


Mr and Mrs Gardner

by silenciumspiritum



Category: Silent Witness (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:01:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 56,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23687350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silenciumspiritum/pseuds/silenciumspiritum
Summary: AU. Takes place between S20 and S21. There's a forensic pathologist murdering innocent people, so what will happen when Nikki and Jack are asked to go undercover and discover the truth? (There are going to mentions of suicide but I will put a TW on the chapters)
Relationships: Nikki Alexander & Jack Hodgson, Nikki Alexander/Jack Hodgson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is going to be a lengthy one but please stick with me. I've really enjoyed writing this one and I know that at some points things aren't going to be totally accurate but I'm trying my best to keep it as realistic as I possibly can. I hope you like it and please, let me know what you think :)

"Jack, Nikki can you come in here for a second?" Thomas called out, poking his head out of his office, looking over to the pair sitting at their own desks.

Jack glanced over to Nikki who seemed just as confused as he was. Shaking his head, he stood up and made his way to Thomas' office, Nikki close behind him. Their wonder peaked as they walked in to find two police officers, one female and the other male, who were also in the office. Their faces changed from confusion to pure bewilderment, _what the hell was going on?_

"If you both want to take a seat," Thomas spoke, gesturing to the two chairs opposite his desk.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, his eyes flicking between Thomas and the police officers, eventually landing on Nikki who seemed to be doing the same thing. He started wracking his brain for anything he might've done recently that could be deemed illegal, but nothing came to mind.

"I'll let them do the explaining," Thomas sat down in his own chair, allowing the officers to speak.

The female officer stepped forward, "We have reason to believe that there is a forensic pathologist working in Cornwall who we suspect hasn't got the cleanest record. There have been a number of suspicious deaths that have occured in the area and they all seem to lead back to him. His name is John Williams," she handed the manila folder in her hands to Nikki who opened it up to reveal pages of notes and a photo of this man. "However, we can't prove anything and we need someone to go undercover and catch him out. We'd send one of ours but it would be too suspicious, he'd pick up on us straight away. That's why I got in contact with Professor Chamberlain who recommended that you two do it. Dr Alexander, you'll be able to get close, you can work together and Mr Hodgson will be able to collect any evidence, if any comes to light."

"What?" Nikki's face dropped, everything clicking into place. Her head snapped to Thomas who was quite clearly avoiding any eye contact with Jack and Nikki.

"We'll give you completely new identities and we'll pay you in full but we just need to nail him. You'll have to collect as much evidence as you possibly can, so we can convict him and stop him from murdering more people," the woman continued.

Jack and Nikki looked at each other, shock written all over them. "What if we say no?" Jack asked.

"I've already agreed on your behalf," Thomas piped up, instantly regretting as he watched Jack puff his cheeks out. "You two are more than capable of doing this, I have full faith in you. Besides, I think you both could do with some team bonding after what happened last year."

Nikki looked to Jack, she didn't even need to ask him what he was thinking. She already knew the answer from one eyebrow raise, they were doing this whether they liked it or not. And well, they didn't exactly have a choice thanks to Thomas.

"Fine, we'll do it," Jack paused. "But why do I get the feeling that there's some sort of catch to this?"

It was the male officer who stepped forward now, handing both Nikki and Jack an identification card each. Nikki's read _Isabella Gardner_ , Jack's read _David Gardner._ They shared a quick look.

"Brother and sister? I'm sure we can cope with that," Nikki smiled innocently, the smile dropping once again as the man pulled out two gold bands from his pocket, handing the smaller one to Nikki and the slightly larger one to Jack.

"You've got to be kidding me," Jack said under his breath, he turned his head to face Thomas whom he was now glaring at. "Married?"

"Afraid so," Thomas shrugged, trying his best not to laugh at Jack and Nikki's reactions to what was going on right now.

"We'll email over all the details to you later, we're just going to leave you to digest all this news. You'll have a few days to prepare yourself and get used to the new names before we send you off at the end of the week," the female officer smiled. "Thank you so much for your cooperation. We hope that you'll be able to help us get this man."

"Right, I'll see you out then," Thomas stood, guiding the two police officers out of his office and through to the entrance of the Lyell, leaving just Jack and Nikki staring at each other wondering what the hell had just happened.

"What did we just agree to?" Nikki questioned, not quite believing what was currently happening. "If this is a dream can you hurry up and pinch me already."

"Oh come on, being married to me can't be that bad surely?" Jack winked at her, seemingly coming round to the idea but it was definitely going to take some getting used to.

Nikki and Jack both spent the next couple of days going over their new identities, coming up with dates and stories to make themselves sound as convincing as possible, making sure to write down everything so as not to forget key information. They even arranged a fake wedding photoshoot, keeping the photos on their phones, should any situation arise where their marriage comes into question. With the help of the police they had settled on the story that brought _Isabella_ and _David_ to Cornwall. They had been living in London, recently married and trying to start a family but were finding it difficult with the stresses of being in a big city. So, they decided to change their lifestyle up and move down to an area that would hopefully bring calm to their hectic lives and allow them the opportunity to finally have a baby that they were so desperate for. _Isabella's_ parents had sadly passed away but _David_ still had his father. Both Nikki and Jack had settled on that decision, it would make things a lot easier. Besides, they had to have something of their normal lives to cling onto, just to keep them sane whilst they were sent on a wild goose chase.

Nikki couldn't complain too much though, the police had provided them both with a completely new set of clothes. Being forensically aware, they both knew that clothing was key to a person's identity, it wouldn't make sense if _Isabella_ dressed like Nikki. _Dr Gardner_ was not like Dr Alexander, although they share some similarities. _Dr Gardner_ is calm, collected and nowhere near as stubborn as Nikki. She thought things through thoroughly before making a decision. She enjoys getting stuck into a good book and walks along the beach, she hates city life and would regret ever moving to London if it weren't for the fact that she'd met _David._

 _David_ is laidback, doesn't lose his temper often and is dedicated to his job. Like Jack, he enjoys working out regularly but his main priority is his wife whom he loves very much and would do anything for. As Jack looked through the clothes that were provided for him, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, they weren't too dissimilar from what he would not normally wear. Although he was slightly disappointed by the lack of cargo trousers, but, he was willing to let that slide.

The weekend had rolled around way too quickly for their liking but at least they had a few days to spend in Cornwall and get used to their surroundings before getting down to the serious stuff and the reason why they were there in the first place. They police also provided them with a car for their time there, both taking it in turns as they drove down. They also took advantage of the long drive to read over the suspects case file and their own files to make sure they had all the information and there was no room for error. They'd also had it drummed into them how important it was to not let their cover blow so they'd tried their best to call each other by their new names and wearing their wedding rings. However Jack, not used to wearing jewelry, struggled to stop himself from fiddling with it.

They finally pulled into the car park of their temporary apartment. Jack drove them through the last stretch of the journey to allow Nikki some time to get some sleep, they'd spent nearly every day and night together since the beginning of the week and he knew the stress of it all was getting to her and she wasn't getting any sleep. He would've offered to drive them the whole way if it weren't so excruciatingly long. He looked over to her, her head resting on her hand. He placed a hand on her arm, shaking her gently.

"Come on darlin' we're home," this was definitely going to take some getting used to. Jack had found giving her nicknames was a lot easier than calling her by a completely different name. She was Nikki, _his_ Nikki, nothing else. He smiled as he watched her stir, her eyes blinking slowly, adjusting to the light. "We better get our stuff in and get settled. I might even treat you to some food later if you're good."

"Whatever," Nikki breathed, ignoring his attempt at a joke to lighten the mood. Jack left the car and walked round to the boot, opening it up to reveal three large suitcases, two of which contained clothes for himself and Nikki. The third contained all the forensic equipment they needed so they would be able to test any evidence at home and not cause everyone who will be around them to be suspicious. Jack hauled two of the suitcases into the elevator whilst Nikki handled the third one. Nikki hit the number three in the lift and soon they were on their way up to the apartment. As soon as they stopped, Jack pulled the keys for the door out his pocket and opened it up.

Walking through into the main area, it was decently sized. It was an open plan so their living room and kitchen was just one big area. Jack glanced around the building, slightly panicking about the lack of doors leading to other rooms that there were. He headed for the first door, it was the bathroom. The second door revealed a bedroom with a king sized bed and boy did it look cosy and comfortable. But he knew straight away that this was probably the closest he was going to get to it.

"There's only one bed," he breathed.

"You have got to be kidding me," Nikki let out, joining him at the doorway and looking into the bedroom. "As if this whole situation wasn't bad enough, they expect me to share a bed with you?"

"Ah cheers," Jack huffed, moving away from her and making his way to the kitchen. He opened the fridge, great there was no food either. "We'll just have to take in turns. You can have the bed for two nights and I'll sleep on the sofa. And then we swap, how does that sound?"

"Fine," Nikki nodded, grabbing her suitcase and pulling it into the bedroom. She started to unpack all her new clothes wanting to get settled as soon as possible.

Following her, Jack also began to sort through his own clothes, placing them on hangers and putting them into the wardrobe. Making sure to put them on the opposite side to where Nikki was putting hers. They filled up the wardrobe in complete silence. Jack could tell Nikki wasn't happy about this situation but she was trying her best to keep it together. He nudged her shoulder with his arm, getting her attention.

"What's up?" He asked, looking down at her.

"Nothing," she shook her head. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine, talk to me," he attempted a smile but it quickly dropped when he caught the tears dropping from her eyes. "Nik," he sat down on the edge of the bed so he could see her better.

She wiped at her cheeks, "It's just all so overwhelming," she paused, fighting back the tears. "I'm scared I'm going to mess this all up and I'll blow our cover and they won't be able to convict this guy and it will be all my fault."

Jack took hold of her hands, "You're not going to mess this up I promise you. You'll have me right next to you, we're in this together. We are going to get through this and we are going to nail that bastard, okay?" She nodded slowly. "Now how about we go for a walk? Get to know the area a bit better and get some food since they haven't provided us with anything. Does that sound good?"

"Sure," a small grin on her face. "Let me just finish putting this lot away and I'll be ready."

"Of course _Mrs Gardner_ ," he chuckled, standing up again. Leaning closer to her, he planted a kiss on her temple before making his way into the living room.

Shortly after, Nikki joined him in the living room, already looking a little less stressed than she was earlier. She'd even changed into one of her new dresses and Jack found himself staring at her, it wasn't something that she would normally wear. Nikki nearly always wore jeans so to see her like this felt odd but not unlikeable. Clearing his throat, he switched the TV off and grabbed his keys from the counter.

As they made their way back down the elevator, Nikki had pulled her phone out and was already finding directions to the nearest shop. Pulling the phone from her hand, Jack put it in his own pocket. Nikki snapped her head to look at him, frowning.

"We are going to stroll around and take our time," the lift pinged and they were on the main floor and heading out through the main entrance of the complex. "We will find a shop when we find a shop but for now let's have a look around and get used to our new surroundings, yeah?" He rested his arm around her shoulder, pulling her slightly closer to him as they walked.

They turned down street after street, neither knowing where it would lead. Jack had soon dropped his arm from her shoulder and knitted his hand through hers. He didn't miss how she tensed her hand at this gesture.

She stopped in her tracks and pulled him to face her, her eyes flicking down to their joined hands and back up at him, "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean what am I doing?" Jack questioned, on the confused side.

"There's no one around so why are you holding my hand?" Nikki tried to pull her hand away but Jack held on tightly.

"You don't know that. Besides, we might as well get used to all this considering we're meant to be husband and wife now," he sighed. "We'll give the game away if we're never affectionate with each other. Especially since we're newly weds it would be weird." Jack snaked his free arm around her waist, closing the gap between them. But Nikki was quick to push him away with a hand on his chest.

Jack laughed as he watched every single emotion that existed run across her face, she was really hating this. And he was now even more determined to make her squirm.

"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "But one thing at a time, alright? So keep your hands to yourself." She huffed, storming off ahead of him, leaving Jack behind in shock and confusion. Exhaling, he looked up at the sky. If he was religious, he'd be on his knees praying to God for the strength to get him through this time, however long it may be. Realising Nikki was making good distance, he ran to catch up with her.

Once he joined her and they were walking in sync again, he found himself clenching his fists to stop him from putting an arm around her or taking her hand in his. As they rounded the corner, they spotted a supermarket up the road.

"Ah, here we are," Jack spoke, breaking the silence, reaching the entrance of the shop. "Have you got a pound?"

Nikki dug around in her small bag and eventually finding out a pound coin she handed it to Jack. Inserting it into the slot, he pulled out the trolley and headed into the shop, Nikki following him closely. He instantly took on the role of pushing the trolley whilst Nikki went through each aisle and picked out the essentials that they needed.

"Can we get this?" He asked, picking up a jar of chocolate spread.

"No, put it down. We don't need it," Nikki said abruptly. She went to move but stopped when she realised Jack wasn't following her. She started to feel bad when she saw him pouting, she knew he was putting it on but she never could resist those puppy dog eyes. "Okay, we can get it. But only this once, we've got to manage our money. We're not exactly paying for all of this," she pointed a finger at him before turning her back on him and continuing to look through the shelves, a small smirk spreading across her face.

After what felt like ten hours, they finally finished their shop. Nikki didn't miss how there were a few extra things being put into the bags that she definitely didn't put in the trolley but she thought it would be best to save the scorning for later. She'd been too hard on him already and it was hardly his fault they were stuck in Cornwall trying to find some serial killer pathologist that had been getting away with things for too long. She found herself quite surprised at what the total came to, if she'd known she would've let him put more things in the trolley.

She chuckled as Jack took his wallet out his pocket and flashed the new card that had been provided for them whilst making some reference to him being a 'gentleman' and that he was 'treating her.' This was going to be the longest couple of weeks, possibly months, of her life. But she supposed she couldn't complain when she had Jack for company. At least she'd be entertained the whole time.

They had quite a few bags of stuff so decided to head straight home, they could save the walk for another day. As they got back into the apartment, Jack relieved her of the bags, hauling them up on top of the counter.

"Right you," he turned to her. "Get yourself in that bath and I'll put all this stuff away and make a start on dinner."

"Jack," she shook her head. " _David_ , you really don't have to."

"Well, you haven't had the best day so I want you to sit back and relax and not worry about anything for the rest of the night, okay? So go on, run yourself a bath and chill out," he smiled, starting to take food out of the bags and finding places in the cupboards and fridge for them. Nikki began to walk away but stopped when Jack called her name. "Normal names in the house, yeah?"

She flashed him a smile, nodding before leaving him to it. Jack continued putting all the stuff away, leaving out all the ingredients he was planning to use for their dinner tonight. After everything had been put in its respective places, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and found the perfect recipe for a spaghetti carbonara. Rolling his sleeves and washing his hands he got down to work.

He was halfway through stirring his sauce when Nikki was joining him again, her blonde hair now damp but at least she was looking more relaxed. He turned his concentration back to pan on the stove, trying his best to hide the grin that was spreading across his face. He felt his heart drop as she peered round him, looking down at the pot.

"Is that carbonara?" She asked, a glint in her eye.

"It sure is."

"That's my favourite!" She exclaimed, dipping a clean teaspoon into the cheese sauce and tasting it resulting in a small tap on her hand from Jack.

"Do you mind?" He chuckled. "Nice?"

She nodded, licking her lips. "Perfect. Do you need me to do anything?"

"Uh, could you get two bowls out from the cupboard and pour me a glass of wine please?" Jack bent down and took the bacon out from under the grill, cutting it up and adding it to his sauce. He then drained out the pasta and added that to his sauce as well. All whilst Nikki weaved in and out of him. He was rather surprised that they didn't get under each other's feet and end up having spaghetti all over the floor. Nikki held the bowls out for him as he dished up before heading towards the small table that sat in between the kitchen and the living room. She placed the bowls down on the table where Jack had already laid the cutlery out. She felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter as she realised that he'd even gone to the effort of lighting a candle. He could be such a sweetheart sometimes.

Jack joined her at the table, the two glasses Nikki had poured in his hands, setting them down next to the bowls. He sat down in the chair opposite her.

"Right, what is our plan of action?" He queried, twirling the spaghetti round on his fork.

"Well, we've got a few days here first so we'll just scope the place out a bit and then when we get to work. I don't know," she paused. "Try and befriend him? Get close to him and let the evidence reveal itself."

"Yeah because it's going to be that easy?" He quipped.

"Didn't say it was going to be," she winked. They finished up eating their food and as much as Nikki wanted to sit on the sofa and watch a film with him, she couldn't stop her eyes from drooping. Yawning, she poured herself a glass of water and headed towards the bedroom. Turning to face him as she reached the doorway. "Good night."

Jack glanced up at her as he set about laying out blankets ready for what he anticipated to be a very uncomfortable night's sleep. "Good night." He watched as she left the room, closing the door behind her. He began removing his clothes, leaving him in just his boxers. Tucking himself under the blankets and trying his best to make himself comfortable, he switched on the TV, flicking through the channels. He eventually found something decent to watch but it wasn't long before he was drifting off.

Jack jumped awake to the sound of a scream echoing throughout the apartment. Thinking it was the TV he grabbed the remote to turn it off but quickly realised that it had already turned itself off. Then where did the scream come from? Sitting up, he rubbed at his eyes and reached out for his phone. Tapping it, his eyes widened at the time. It was three in the morning. Dropping his phone into his lap, he ran his hand through his hair. He shook his head, it must have been something outside, a cat or something. He was about to lie down again when he heard a noise coming from the direction of the room where Nikki was sleeping. Quickly getting up, he headed towards her room. He slowly turned the handle and edged inside.

"Nikki?" He whispered, not wanting to startle her. "Nikki?" He walked further into the room and he could just about make her out in the moonlight that was shining through the window. She seemed to be fast asleep but she was tossing and turning and the pained expression that was on her face made Jack's stomach drop, the lump in his throat forming. He sat on the side of the bed, next to her. Resting an arm on her shoulder he gently shook her, whispering her name again.

She jerked awake, reaching out and gripping on to his arm so hard that her nails dug into his skin. Jack clenched his jaw, trying to ignore the pain she was causing him. Thankfully, she let go nearly as quickly as she had grabbed him.

"Jack," fell from her lips as her eyes settled on him, her heart rate slowing. She lifted herself up and rested her back up against the headboard. Jack leaned over and handed her the glass of water that had been left on the bedside table.

She slowly sipped at it, trying to stop herself from shaking. Jack laid his hand next to Nikki's on the bed, his finger slowly caressing her palm before taking it fully in his, squeezing it.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He spoke softly.

"I just wish it would stop," she sighed, the tears forming in her eyes. "It's just always there, I close my eyes and I'm back there."

"How often do you get them?"

"Most nights," she wiped at her cheeks as the tears fell.

"What do you normally do to distract yourself?"

She shook her head, "Nothing, once I'm awake, I'm awake. So I make myself some food, put the television on and wait for an appropriate time to go to work."

Jack dropped his head, now he felt even worse for ignoring her for all those months knowing now how much she was suffering. How could he be so stupid and selfish? He was struggling but clearly not as much as her and it really wasn't fair for him to punish her the way he did.

"Do you not try to go back to sleep?"

"No point."

"Do you think having someone with you would help?" He was thankful that it was only the moon lighting the room right now for the blush was creeping up on his cheeks.

She chuckled unexpectedly, "Jack, is that a ploy just to get into this bed?"

"No," he said abruptly. A small grin appearing on his face. "Well, maybe just a little."

Nikki pulled up the other side of the blanket, "Get in then."

Jack tried his best not to act relieved as she said those words but that sofa really was the most uncomfortable thing ever. Walking round to the other side, he climbed in and wrapped himself up in the blanket. Nikki lowered herself down so that she was now facing him. Jack took hold of her hand once again.

"I'm right here, okay?"

Nikki nodded, smiling as she closed her eyes. Jack waited until her breathing evened out before closing his own.

The next time Jack stirred was, well he didn't even know the time was but judging by the sunlight shining through the curtains it wasn't stupid o'clock in the morning. He very quickly became aware of the body pressed into his side and arm resting across his torso. He felt his heart racing as he looked down at her, her blonde locks sprawled out behind her. For the first time in such a long time she actually looked peaceful. Like nothing in the world could hurt her. He had to stop himself from wrapping his arm around her although he was desperate to. But he knew if he did that she would undoubtedly wake up and this beautiful moment would be ruined. Sighing, he settled on remaining still and simply enjoying the feeling of her breath brushing against his skin.

"What time is it?" He heard her mumble into his side.

He glanced down at her, "Didn't realise you were awake."

"Hmm," was her reply before she rolled over and pushed herself up from the bed. Jack breathed, already missing the contact. He watched as she slipped off to the bathroom wearing a pair of tartan pyjama bottoms and an oversized t-shirt. Pulling the blanket from him, he too stood up. Walking round the bed towards the wardrobe, he picked himself out a jumper and a pair of trousers and set about getting himself ready quickly before Nikki joined him again.

He was halfway through pulling his jumper over his head when Nikki was in the room. When he finally got the jumper over his head, his eyes connected with hers and he couldn't help but chuckle as he caught her gawping at him.

"Like what you see?" He winked, striding past and planting a kiss on her temple before leaving her in the room alone. Nothing could wipe away the smirk that was on his face right now, he had caught her looking and nothing made him happier. He had found another thing he could tease her with, although he should probably lay off from the teasing at the moment. Well, at least until everything had settled down and she felt more comfortable in her new surroundings.

Picking out a pan from the drawer and two eggs, he started on making them some breakfast. As he cracked the eggs and let them cook he put some bread into the toaster, he leaned on the counter for a moment before flipping the eggs. The toast popped, he went to grab it but Nikki beat him to it. Picking up the pieces of toast, Nikki started buttering them ready for Jack to put the eggs on top.

Nikki poured both of them glasses of orange juice and placed them on the table, Jack followed behind her with the two plates. They sat in a comfortable silence as they ate their breakfast.

As Nikki finished up the last of her toast, she took a sip from her drink. Clearing her throat she spoke, "I'm sorry for being difficult."

Jack flicked his eyes up to her, "What are you going on about?"

"I know I've not been the best company, it's just all been so much. Beginning of the week I was going to work as normal and by the end of the week I'm in Cornwall with a completely different identity and I'm having to pretend to be married to my best friend," she sighed putting her glass down on the couldn't help but laugh at her causing Nikki to pull a face, "What?"

"You," he started, placing his hand on top of hers and squeezing it gently. "I completely understand how you're feeling but as I've said before, you've got me," removing his hand from hers he smiled. "Besides, I didn't know that was how you felt about me. I thought I was still an acquaintance at best."

"Oh shut up," she chuckled. Piling up their plates and glasses, she carried them through to the kitchen and placed them in the sink.

Jack followed behind her, leaning against the counter, "Well, we've got one day left of freedom before this shitstorm really starts. What do you want to do?"

Nikki shrugged looking over to him, "I don't know. We could go down to the beach? We need to run through everything again just to really make sure that we've got it all covered."

Jack sighed, rolling his eyes, "Really? We can recite those case notes word for word at this point do we really need to go over them again?"

"Of course we do Jack. If we break our cover that's it, they'll never be able to convict him, we've got one shot at this and we're going to do it properly. So, come on get dressed. We'll go for a walk and then when we get back we can assess everything."

"Whatever," Jack shook his head, making his way into the bedroom to get changed.

They were soon walking along the sandy beach, it was a sunny day so Nikki had opted for a flowing summer dress with all different coloured flowers decorating it. Jack had chosen a pair of long shorts and a loose shirt. Nikki was carrying her sandals as they strolled along the shore line, an ice cream in her other hand that Jack had bought her. They didn't say much on their walk, simply enjoying each other's company and to be honest, Nikki had been lost in her own thoughts as usual.

She was trying her best to think of ways they could approach their attack and how they were going to go about things without raising too much suspicion. They'd already established that, with Nikki being a pathologist, she would have to be the one to gain his trust the most. She'd have to be the one to catch him out by working closely with him and making note of anything untoward. Jack, on the other hand, would have to be responsible for all the tests and being sure to not get caught. But ultimately, they were going to have to wait until they were actually there and in the middle of the storm before they can even begin to properly think of how they were going to go about things.

Pulling her from her thoughts was Jack's arm snaking around her waist, she opened her mouth ready for a retort but she was quickly stopped by Jack pointing at someone. She furrowed her brows as she followed his finger, her face dropping as she realised what he had spotted. It was him. Luckily, they were far away enough that he wouldn't be able to notice but wanting to keep things under control and meet him in the way they were meant to, they decided to turn around and head back to their apartment.

Once they got home, Nikki dug out the case files and spread them out onto the table.

"So we know that his victims seem to come in as suspected suicides," Nikki started, leaning on the table. "But the number of suicides coming in decreased until recently, hence why we've been called in. But how does he do it? You know, I can't help but think I've seen this before." She pondered for a moment as Jack watched her, leaning on the back of the sofa.

"What about that case a couple of years ago?" He suggested, standing up and edging closer to the table. "He was able to get to his victims because he drugged them before he killed them. Drugged them so they couldn't react, what if this guy's doing the same? And getting away with it because he's doing the post mortem and purposely washing over the fact that there's needle marks? It obviously explains why the second post mortem on that woman was different to the original post mortem. He carries out the post mortems in the way he wants them to, that's how he gets away with it."

"Until that second post mortem," Nikki countered. "So, I'm going to have to try my best to keep a close eye on all the post mortems he does. But how am I going to do that if he's leaning over my shoulder all the time?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. I really don't know Nikki, but you of all people will find a way to do it. But we can't plan anything without having actually been there yet. We need to go there tomorrow, scope the place out, find out what kind of people we're working with and go from there. So please, let's just relax and enjoy this last day we've got together before all we're going to be talking about is forensic tests and death."

Nikki glared at Jack momentarily before accepting that he was right, yet again. They couldn't be any more prepared than they already were. If they went over things anymore they'd end giving everything away. Sighing, she packed up all the case files and stored them away safely. Wanting to have a clear head tomorrow Nikki decided to have an early night. She did dance over asking Jack if he would join her again but not wanting to further blur whatever was going on with their relationship she thought it best not to. She would never admit it but having Jack with her the previous night made such a difference and it was one of the best night's sleep she'd had in a long time but whether that was because it was Jack or simply having the company of someone else she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She just hoped that she didn't have another one of her nightmares again tonight so Jack didn't feel the need to be with her.

Thankfully she managed to get through the night undisturbed apart from her alarm going off in the morning. Sitting up in bed, she stretched before heading towards the kitchen to make herself her morning coffee. She glanced over to Jack who was still fast asleep on the sofa that was way too small for him as she walked past. She chuckled at his crumpled form but her face dropped as she remembered that it was her turn for the sofa tonight, maybe she'll save winding him up for another time.

She poured her coffee into a mug before making her way back over to the living room area, sitting on the other chair. She reached over to ruffle Jack's hair, causing him to stir.

"Come on sleeping beauty it's the big day today," she joked.

"What time is it?" He asked, pushing himself up and rubbing at his eyes.

Nikki looked over at the digital clock that sat in front of the TV, "Half six," she replied, taking a sip of her coffee.

"You must be joking?" Jack scoffed. "We don't have to be in until nine."

Nikki rolled her eyes, "Why am I having to remind you again? This isn't a normal job Jack. We've got to be ready."

"Whatever," he huffed standing up and storming towards the bathroom to have a shower and attempt to wake himself up properly. Nikki's eyebrows knitted together, what the hell has gotten into him? So typical that the moment she starts to feel more comfortable in this strange environment Jack starts to get his back up about something. Sighing, Nikki thought it best to ignore it and try to focus on what they were there to do, what they were best at doing, solving crimes.

In an attempt to try and cheer Jack up, Nikki tried to make them both breakfast and it was going well until she got distracted and ended up burning the bacon. She started trying to cut off the burnt bits when Jack returned back from the shower and just stared at her, a smirk on his face.

"I wanted to cheer you up," Nikki grinned, trying to contain her laughter but not doing a very good job at it.

"Well, that's very sweet of you but let's leave the cooking to me shall we? Before you burn this place down to the ground," Jack laughed, placing his hands on Nikki's shoulders and pushing her away from the counter gently. "Now go get dressed whilst I try and fix this mess," he winked.

"Oh and Nikki," he called as she started walking away from him. "Thank you."

A small smile graced her face, "No problem," she spoke, slipping into the bedroom and picking out a long skirt, pairing it with a white blouse. She applied little makeup, she really wasn't one for lots of makeup unless she was going out. She decided to keep her hair as she usually styled it. Checking over herself in the mirror and running her fingers through her lightly curled blonde locks, she nodded, happy with the way she looked.

When she came into the kitchen again, it looked completely different from when she was there not ten minutes ago. She'd definitely have to leave the cooking to Jack from now on, or maybe he could teach her how to actually cook without burning everything whilst they had more time to spend together? Realising what that thought was entailing she quickly shook it from her head and instead concentrated on the plate of food that Jack was now placing in front of her.

Today wasn't a day she could afford to skip breakfast. She needed all the energy she could muster to get through it. They ate their breakfast together before running through the case _again_ in the time they had left before they had to leave, much to Jack's chagrin, who really didn't believe that they could look at this case anymore than they already had.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't long before they were pulling up in the car park of their new place of work. The place that was going to be their job for the next couple of months.

Jack looked over at Nikki who was already starting to pick at her fingernails. He reached over and placed his hand on top of hers causing her to snap up at him.

"It's going to be okay, just remember that your name is Isabella Gardner, you are married to me, David Gardner. Don't forget that and everything will be fine," he attempted to reassure her and knowing Nikki, it was pointless but he could only try his best. She gave him a small smile and turned her hand under his and gave his hand a squeeze, she appreciated him trying.

Taking a deep breath she opened the car door and got out. She waited for Jack before taking hold of his hand once again and they walked towards the entrance. Nikki held onto Jack's hand tightly as they waited in reception ready to meet John Williams himself and from there, there was no going back.

They felt the breath being knocked out of them as the man walked out, seemingly not a care in the world but they didn't expect anything less from someone who had killed multiple people and thought that he'd gotten away with it. Hopefully, they would be able to wash that smile off his smug face. He was fairly tall, although not as tall as Jack. He had short mousy brown hair and if Nikki was being honest, he was average looking. Not at all what you would expect from someone who had done what he had been doing. But then she supposed, that's how he was getting away with it.

John held his hand out to Jack who was reluctant to let go of Nikki's hand but not wanting to come across as cold he shook John's hand, "David Gardner, you must be Dr Williams," Jack tried to be as enthusiastic as he could be, remembering that he was now David and not Jack.

"That makes you Dr Gardner," John was reaching for Nikki's hand now. Nikki stared at his hand for a moment before making to hold it after receiving a nudge from Jack.

"That's correct," Nikki said through gritted teeth. "It's really lovely to meet you."

"As is you," he breathed, peering at Nikki before glancing back at Jack. "You're a very lucky man Mr Gardner. Let's get down to business shall we?"

Jack's eyes widened as he placed a hand on the small of Nikki's back who was very obviously uncomfortable with what was just said. They shared a look, their faces mirroring each other before following behind John who was taking them further into the lab.

As they rounded the corner, they walked into a room not too dissimilar from the Lyell which they supposed was some kind of comfort. It may make them feel a little bit more at home. They were then introduced to Rachel Miller, a lab technician and by all accounts someone they'd be working closely with. She had shoulder length dark brown hair, glasses and she appeared to be approachable. Nikki and Jack introduced themselves before joining John once again for the tour of the lab and the offices.

They had been set up at adjoined desks which was slightly different from their setup at the Lyell where they were opposite to each other. But being next to each other may actually help them should anything happen and they wanted to be able to communicate with each other without arising any suspicion. Their introduction pretty much ended here and they did as John told them to and got themselves 'settled in.'

Nikki couldn't quite describe the feeling that she had right now, it was a mixture of being nervous and absolutely terrified. There were so many thoughts running through her head and she felt as though she had forgotten everything that they had somewhat planned. She could barely remember the name of the person she was meant to be. She turned to Jack who was looking round the room. She knew what he was doing. He was sussing the place out, looking for points of entry, noting everything in the room. It's what he did best, being forensic. Making sure he knew every little detail about the room so should anything change he'd pick up on it straight away. She was happy to leave him to it but he caught her eye, he'd seen the look on her face and now he was perching himself on her desk, his hand reaching down and grabbing hold of hers, squeezing it gently.

"Just breathe," he whispered. "Close your eyes, take a moment and just relax. We've got this. We can do this."

He felt her hand tense under his as John walked into the room and asked, "Is everything alright?"

Jack glanced over his shoulder, "Yeah, everything's fine. She just gets a bit anxious sometimes, especially being in a new environment. Stresses her out, she'll be okay in a minute."

"Right, okay," John replied, not quite sure of what to think of the two of them just yet. "Well, when you're ready I would like to show you the morgue. We had someone come in earlier and I would love to have Dr Gardner assist me with this one. You can show me how good you really are."

John stayed watching the pair whilst Nikki gripped onto Jack's hand even tighter, sighing he knelt down on the floor in front of her, "Come on _Is_ , this is what we wanted, what we needed. I know it's scary and things are going to be different for a while but we'll get used to it and hopefully we'll be able to get what we've always wanted, yeah?"

Nikki gulped, trying to steady herself as she focused on Jack's voice, her eyes connected with his. She breathed before nodding, she wouldn't let her nerves get the better of her. She had a job to do and if she treated this as she would treat any other case then they would get through this quite easy. Treat it like any other case was what she was going to need to be running through her head at all times.

Nodding again to reassure Jack, she lifted herself up from her chair and dropped his hands. Jack stood up at the same time, their bodies now dangerously close to one another. Nikki could feel his breath brush across the top of her head, it made her heart sink. Goosebumps erupted all over her skin. Jack was quick to pick up on the tension that was growing and it was starting to stand out already. He could see John in the corner of his eye observing them, they were certainly not acting like a newly married couple. They were acting like two people who had spent the whole time they'd known each other dancing round one another and not actually acting on their feelings. Jack was determined to not blow their cover, that was the last thing they needed after all the effort they'd gone to so he took the leap.

He leaned down, his lips capturing hers briefly. He didn't miss how his heart was now pounding out of his chest and his cheeks had most definitely turned a bright shade of pink but he tried his best to play it off. "You've got this," he spoke, doing his damndest to not let his voice waver. He had to not act like that was their first kiss but was their one of many. They were a married couple after all and he was not about to expose them. Taking her hand in his once again he gave it a quick squeeze before moving out of her way so she could follow behind John.

He watched as she left. He didn't want her to leave his side at all if he was being totally honest. He had no reason to trust John in the first place, they were there to catch him out and convict him for murder at the end of the day. But having met him in person, he really didn't feel comfortable and he knew that that was half the reason Nikki was having a panic attack. She didn't feel safe with him and now she was having to be alone with him.

Trailing behind John, Nikki tried to slow her breathing. It was bad enough she was stressed about this whole situation and now she had to try and distract herself from the fact she could still feel her lips tingling from where he had kissed them. She had often wondered what it would be like to kiss him, to feel his lips pressed against hers. But this was not how she had imagined it in her head. And now that it had happened, it was all she was going to be thinking about. But, she supposed that that wouldn't be such a bad idea, all things considered. Maybe that's why Jack did it in the first place, give her something to focus on so she wouldn't worry about the bigger matter and slip up. And of course, to solidify the fact that they were meant to be married.

"How long have you and David been together?" John questioned, breaking the silence as they walked down the hall.

Snapping out of her thoughts Nikki answered, "Well, we've been together for about four years now but we only got married six months ago." Nikki could feel her throat tighten as the words escaped her mouth. She knew that she would get used to all of this eventually but she really hoped that it would be sooner rather than later.

"Right here we are," John stopped as they reached the locker room. Once again, Nikki noticed that it wasn't unlike the Lyell. It had much of the same setup, give or take a few things here and there. "Just get yourself changed and head down through that corridor which will take you to the cutting room. I'll meet you there whenever you're ready. Oh and here's your locker key, you should have some scrubs ready for you in there."

Nikki winced as she felt John place a hand on her arm whilst dropping a set of keys in her hand, "And please, you've got nothing to worry about. You're perfectly safe here," he almost smiled at her before heading through into a separate changing room on the other side of the room.

She took a deep breath trying to ground herself. She wished Jack was with her right now, just being in the same room as John freaked her out. But at least when Jack was there she felt more secure and less vulnerable. She looked down at the number on the keyring, nine. She made her way over to her new locker and pulled the white scrubs out along with a pair of white clogs, much like the ones she had back at the Lyell.

She quickly got herself changed and put her clothes back into the locker before walking down the hallway leading through to the morgue. Although this morgue had an observation room, this was much smaller than the one at the Lyell, the whole room was a lot smaller in fact. But given that this wasn't London and they probably had a lot less cases than _they_ were used to, it wasn't surprising.

"Here we go," John rounded the body that had been placed in the middle of the room. He strolled over to Nikki, a scalpel in his hands. He held it out in front of her, encouraging her to take it to which she did. "I want you to carry this one out. Show me what you've got," he winked, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end.

Edging closer to the body, Nikki set about doing what she does best. The one thing she can get her teeth stuck into and really take her mind off things, "What brought him here?" She asked as she pulled the knife down the length of the man on the slab.

"Police think it's a murder," John answered. "He was found in a river. You can probably see but he was hit over the head. They've already got a suspect in mind but need us to clarify some things. You know how it is."

"Yeah. Do the police not observe the PMs?" Nikki pointed out, flicking her eyes to the observation room.

John shook his head, "Not usually no. Many of the murders around here are solved in no time. They usually don't get the chance to watch us pathologists in action," he paused, taking a moment to appreciate Nikki's efficiency as she began assessing the organs. "What brought you to Cornwall then? It's not exactly as exciting as London now is it?"

"Exactly," Nikki somewhat chuckled. "We wanted a quieter life. Somewhere where we could build our family and not get caught up in complicated cases and miss half their childhood."

"So you've got kids?"

Nikki shook her head as she placed the liver on the weighing scales and noted down the numbers, "That's something we're working on. It's another reason we came down here. The stresses of living in a big city were getting too much for us and well, it's been a hard few months," she sighed, hoping that she was coming across as convincing. But, he seemed to be taking it all in and actually looked interested in what she was saying.

"That can't have been easy," John sympathised, which took Nikki by surprise considering how he made her feel not that long ago. "Anyway, anything interesting?"

"Well he didn't drown. There's no froth in the lungs. Everything else seems to be healthy," she breathed. "I'd say that the blow to the head was most certainly the cause of death."

"Good work," he winked again. "Do you want to write up the report? I'll read over it before you send it off to make sure everything's okay. But I'm impressed, you're almost better than me," he laughed to himself before walking off.

Nikki rolled her eyes and kept the smile on her face until he was out of sight. That's when it dropped and she couldn't help but be offended by his attitude towards her. She had been a pathologist for nearly half her life and he wants to 'read over her report?' She was genuinely gobsmacked. If it wasn't for the fact that she was having to befriend him for the sake of the case she had the right mind to tell him to shove his job up his arse. Rolling her eyes, she pulled the gloves off her hands and grabbed her notes before getting changed herself and joining Jack once again at the offices.

Jack flicked his eyes over to her as she settled herself down in the chair and turned her computer on. He felt himself grow a tad worried when she didn't look over to him. Maybe he had overstepped the mark with the kiss earlier but even she had to understand that they would look weird if they weren't affectionate with each other enough. Or maybe it was something that happened during the post mortem?

Not wanting to wait until later for an answer, he wheeled himself over to Nikki so that he was now next to her. Nikki snapped her head to face him.

"What do you want?" She questioned, feeling herself shiver from him being in such close proximity to her.

"To see how it went," Jack quipped, searching her eyes for an answer before she actually said anything. She usually gave away most of what she was thinking without saying a single word.

"Fine," she replied bluntly, turning away from him.

"You're lying," he remarked, sighing. He pushed himself away from her, stopping at his own desk. "That's okay, we can talk about it later."

"That's not the only thing we need to talk about later," she retorted, not even bothering to look over to him knowing that he was pulling a face at her. Nikki knew this was going to be difficult but actually being here and having to be so careful with what she did and said was something she hadn't totally anticipated. Everyone around them had forensic ways of thinking, if something was out of place or odd then they were going to notice it straight away.

Realising that being annoyed at Jack for no apparent reason was going to stand out amongst her peers she stood up and moved to perch on his desk, gazing down at him.

"Sorry," she exhaled. "I don't mean to be funny with you but you just caught me by surprise earlier that's all." She kept her voice low. Even though they were the only two in the room, she couldn't be too careful.

Jack leaned back on his chair so he could look at her up easier, he rested his hand on the back of her thigh. Noticing her tensing under his touch he grinned, "Well, you're my wife. I should be able to kiss you if and when I like."

The smirk spread across Nikki's face, "Don't push it. We're meant to be professional."

"Well if that's the case, shouldn't you be getting on with your work instead of sitting pretty on my desk," he removed his hand from her leg and pulled himself back closer to his desk.

Nikki held her mouth open, not quite sure how to react to what was going on right now. She huffed, standing up straight. She chuckled as a thought ran through her head. If Jack was going to have his fun with her then it was only fair that she had some too. Placing her hand on the back of his chair, she leaned in closer to him. Bringing their faces together. She felt his breath run across her lips. If she wasn't teasing him, it wouldn't have taken much to persuade her to kiss him there and then. But she lingered there, their lips almost touching and their noses pressed against one another, for as long as she could take it. And like a flash, she was back in her chair making a start on the report.

Jack stayed in his chair, thoughts racing. His mouth was dry and he felt as though all the blood had been drained from him. He watched Nikki as she seemingly was not reacting to what had just happened. _So that was how it was going to be? Well two can play at that game_ , he bit his lip as all the ideas that he could think of to wind Nikki up ran through his head. If she was going to act in a way that would make his head explode, then surely it's only fair to do the same to her?

They didn't really speak much for the rest of the day, neither quite knowing what to say. Their relationship had changed in just one day which surprised the both of them. They had been here for two whole days already but they seemed to be fine up until today. What was it about being in this new job that changed them so quickly? Was it the fact that they were having to actually pretend to be married and show it off in front of people. Instead of just knowing it was there looming in the background but still managing to be friends? Maybe.

There hadn't been anything exciting for them to pick up on. Apart from the body that Nikki did the post mortem on that morning. Nikki and Jack just had to do their best to make themselves comfortable for what was going to be a very long journey. Because no other bodies came in, Nikki didn't have much of a chance to get close to John although their luck changed when John had asked the pair if they would join the rest of the team for some drinks to celebrate the new arrival.

Not wanting to pass up this opportunity which would unlikely lead to anything, but it could've. Nikki and Jack happily agreed but they both, without saying anything, settled on neither of them drinking too much. Both knowing, from experience, things tend to spill out when they get drunk and now really wasn't the time for them to be exposing secrets.

Settling down at the pub, Jack ordered Nikki a glass of white wine while he ordered himself a beer. They all sat down together at a rather large booth. Jack had opted to sit in between Nikki and John, not entirely trusting that he would keep his hands to himself. Rachel, the lab technician, had also joined them along with a few other forensic scientists.

"David," John started. "Isabella was telling me earlier how you came to move down to sunny old Cornwall."

Although they had thoroughly discussed the entire story of _David and Isabella,_ Jack couldn't help but panic slightly. He doubted that she would, but he really hoped that she hadn't changed their story. Even if it was the slightest of changes, it would stand out to these people and they would pick up on it straight away.

Noticing that he had gone quiet for a touch too long, Nikki placed a hand on his thigh in the hope of reassuring him. But she couldn't stop her lips twitching fondly as she felt him tense under her, maybe that wasn't the best thing to do. It did, however, seem to work as Jack opened his mouth to speak, "Yeah, we just thought it was the best thing for us to do. Everything was starting to get to us and that's not good for a new marriage," Jack instinctively picked at the ring on his finger with his thumb.

"It was probably the hardest decision but we're not regretting it so far," he chuckled, taking a sip of his beer before looking down to Nikki who was trying her best to convey to him that he was doing a good job.

"Why Cornwall?" Rachel piped up, her eyes darting between the couple.

Jack and Nikki shared a quick glance, they hadn't anticipated that question so neither knew what to say. Gulping, Nikki took the bullet, "My mum was originally from Cornwall and I often spent my summers over here. We wanted somewhere that would feel like home to us and hopefully feel like home for our children."

Jack laid his hand on top of Nikki's where it still rested on his leg. Nikki turned her hand so she wrapped her fingers around Jack's and gently gave it a squeeze before letting go. Her palm now feeling a tad on the clammy side, she ran her hand up and down her leg trying to rid her of how Jack's hand felt against hers and just how, in a strange sort of way, right it felt. Taking a sip of wine to distract her from her thoughts she tried to concentrate on what John and Rachel were now discussing.

She was having to play catch up now but thankfully Jack seemed to be concentrating. Wanting an excuse for not knowing what was going on Nikki excused herself to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately for her, Rachel decided to join her which left Jack now on his own with John.

"How long have you been a pathologist then John?" Jack attempted to make conversation, not wanting things to get awkward. There was nothing Jack hated more than awkward silence, him and Nikki got over their awkward silences pretty quickly at the beginning. But they had clicked almost straight away so it was no surprise there.

Jack watched as John gulped at his drink, "Too long," he scoffed. Jack forced the smile across his face, not wanting to appear unsociable. "No, I'm only joking. I won't lie though I haven't actually kept track. It's got to be just over fifteen years now. How long have you been a forensic scientist?"

"About the same," Jack replied. "Although I nearly gave it up not that long back."

"How so?"

"It was a tough case, took me a while to get over it," he sighed, keeping his cool. "If it wasn't for meeting _Is_. Well, I wouldn't know where I'd be right now. Probably six feet under for doing one fight too many."

"You fight?" John pondered.

Jack nodded, "Used to. Cagefighting," he paused, searching John for any reaction. There was no need for Jack to be telling him this. They had intertwined it into their story should it ever come up but they had both decided that it would be brought up as a last resort. But Jack had seen how John was behaving around Nikki and how it was making her feel uncomfortable already. And that didn't sit well with Jack. He needed to assert his dominance, show _John_ that he wasn't someone to be messed with. Judging by John's reaction, it seemed to be heading that way. "I gave it up when I got with _Is_ , she helped me get out of it. Still go to the gym regularly though. Can't completely let it go."

"I know how that feels," now he'd caught Jack's attention. Not wanting to disturb what he could potentially reveal, Jack remained silent and let him continue. "When you find something so exhilarating and addictive. Something that keeps you alive, makes you feel whole. That's hard to let go of."

Jack tried his best to keep his reaction neutral but it felt as though he had been kicked in the stomach. Anyone who didn't know what the guy sat in front of him had done, they'd think nothing twice about what he had just said. But knowing what he had done, Jack struggled to swallow the bile rising up his throat. He almost breathed a sigh of relief as Nikki was joining him once again. And when she announced that it was time they had better get a move on, something about wanting another early night, Jack felt like getting on his knees and praying to God. Why Thomas ever agreed for them to work this case he'd never know. He just hoped that whatever happened, it happened quick because he truly thought he couldn't work with that man for any longer than two weeks.

But knowing how these things work, deep down Jack was fully aware that this was going to be a long couple of months. Possibly the hardest couple of months of his life and after everything that happened last year that scared him even more.

They were soon pulling up at the car park of their apartment. Breathing heavily, Jack and Nikki left the car and headed indoors. Not much was said on their journey, both very tired from a surprisingly stressful day. But was it really that surprising? Nikki set her bag down on the counter as they walked through into the kitchen, letting out a long exhale.

"Are we going to talk about today?" Jack queried, leaning on the counter next to Nikki.

"We have to," she breathed. "We need to get some plans into place."

"I don't like him at all Nikki," Jack stood up straight again, turning and leaning back onto the counter, his arms folded. "The way he was with you this morning turned my stomach. I know we're there to catch him out for murdering people but he makes me sick. He said something about how hard it is to let go of something when it is so _exhilarating_ and _addictive_ earlier, when you went to the toilet. I know it seems like something we can't do but I really don't want you to be alone with him."

Nikki flicked her eyes up to look at him, "You know that's going to be impossible. If there is a chance of us catching him out, I have to be alone with him. As much as I don't like it either."

"What was he like in the post mortem today?" Jack asked, looking down at her and catching her eye.

"Arrogant," Nikki rolled her eyes. "He said he wanted to 'read over' my report before I sent it off to the coroner. To make sure 'everything was okay.' I had every mind to tell him to piss off. How dare he? 'Almost as good as me,'" Nikki mocked him. Jack couldn't but chuckle at her minor outburst.

John goading Nikki wasn't going to end well for him. Bringing Nikki's professionalism into question, well, the man might as well confess to murder right now because Nikki will do everything in her power to make his life hell. Which Jack supposed wasn't a bad thing all things considered. Maybe, in a strange way, this was what Nikki needed to get her head into the right place. A push in the right direction. Something to really get in the zone and concentrate on what she was there to do.

"The best thing I think we can do right now is," Jack started after a moment. "Just get to know them all. Wait until the evidence starts to reveal itself. I doubt any 'suicides' are going to come in straight away. Not when he's got new people sniffing around the place. He's going to wait for things to settle down before he strikes. When he does is another question. It could be two weeks, it could be two months. But we're just going to have to sit it out unfortunately."

Nikki nodded, she couldn't protest against him. Everything he was saying was true. They couldn't just go barging in and expect to find all the evidence straight away. This was something they'd have to invest their time into and wait around.

"We'll just have to make note of any odd behaviours. Anything that stands out or indicates that he was involved," she stopped. Turning to look in the fridge for anything she could nibble at. She could feel her stomach beginning to grumble. She hadn't even noticed that it had been that long since lunch. She faced Jack again, a question popping to the forefront of her mind. "What did you make of Rachel Miller?"

Jack shrugged, "She seemed nice enough. Didn't speak to her much though so I can't really say. Did she mention anything to you when you went to the bathroom at the pub?"

Nikki shook her head, "Nothing particularly interesting. Just standard polite women talk," a smile danced across her lips. "Have you got any ideas for food? I'm starving."

Jack huffed as he pushed himself away from the counter, "How about a cottage pie? My maw always used to make it for me when I wasn't feeling great. Makes me feel at home. Besides, you can help me make it."

Nikki's eyes lit up, "I'd love to," she beamed, already walking over to the sink and washing her hands.

They set about making the cottage pie. Jack pulled the mince beef out of the freezer to defrost whilst Nikki started peeling the potatoes and carrots. Jack placed himself next to Nikki as he chopped up the onion. They prepared the food in complete silence save for the sound of the knife hitting the board. Despite the quiet, they both could sense the elephant in the room. The question that was hanging over them that was yet to be asked, neither quite sure of what the answer was going to be should one of them take the plunge and throw it into the air.

Nikki jumped as Jack spoke, breaking that silence, "Are we going to talk about it?" It was Jack who had taken it upon himself to ask it.

"Talk about what?" Nikki replied innocently, pretending not to know what he was alluding to.

"I think you know what I'm getting at," Jack remarked, keeping focused on the onion he was chopping in front of him. Not daring to look at Nikki, too scared of what may happen should he turn in her direction.

"Jack," Nikki started, dropping the potato peeler onto the chopping board and resting her hands on top of the counter. "Look, we're just friends. It's all we'll ever be. I shouldn't have teased you like that earlier and I'm sorry. It was," she took a moment, gathering her thoughts. "It wasn't fair. This situation we're in right now is hard enough as it is without over-complicating it."

Jack nodded his head slowly, taking it all in, "Good to know where we stand." He struggled to hide the disappointment in his voice. Not wanting to bring any more attention to it, he remained silent as they finished up preparing the food.

Once all the necessary ingredients had been peeled and chopped up, Jack made a start on cooking it all off while Nikki hopped into the shower unable to bear the awkward tension that now hung between them. She sat on the edge of the bed in just a towel, her now damp blonde hair clinging to her skin. She sighed, this was all they needed. But she was very much determined to not let this get between them. Getting dressed into her pyjamas she joined Jack in the kitchen who was serving up their dinner.

The smell that engulfed her as she walked in was amazing and made her stomach growl even more than it did earlier. She eagerly ate up what was in front of her, even helping herself to seconds which gained an eyebrow raise from Jack. There wasn't much said for the rest of the night apart from small talk and Nikki complimenting Jack on his cooking skills.

Nikki was soon pulling the blankets out and started to make herself comfortable on the sofa. Jack gave her a funny look as he watched her trying to find the best spot, a smirk erupting across his face.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"It's your turn to sleep on the bed so I'm making myself comfortable," she answered, fluffing up the pillows.

Standing up Jack shook his head, "No, come on," he took the blanket off her and threw it to the other side of the room. Her eyebrows knitted together as she looked up at him. "You can sleep in the bed with me."

"Do you really think that's the best idea?" She crossed her arms, the tone in her voice serious.

"That sofa is the most uncomfortable thing in this world, trust me," he huffed. "And I don't fancy having to deal with a grumpy Nikki because she hasn't got any sleep. So you can either sleep in the bed with me or you can sleep here. And you don't have to worry I will put a wall of pillows between us so there's no chance of wandering hands."

"It's not me who's going to have to worry about wandering hands," Nikki scoffed, referring back to Jack's previous behaviour ever since they'd been here. "But I get the feeling that you won't give up without a fight so I suppose I'll have to agree."

"Suppose you will," Jack spoke bluntly, leading the way into the bedroom, Nikki following behind.

He could feel Nikki's eyes boring into his back as he pulled the jumper he was wearing over his head before taking his trousers off, leaving him in just his boxers. He didn't say a word as he climbed into bed next to her. She had already taken it upon herself to set up the 'wall of pillows' Jack had been referring to earlier.

"You know for someone who says that we'll only over be friends, you don't half stare at me when I'm not wearing much," he grinned as he heard Nikki's breath hitch. Satisfied that he had got his own back from her teasing him that morning he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: I am going to be writing about suicides from this chapter onwards...

It had been two weeks since Nikki and Jack had started their new lives as  _ Isabella  _ and  _ David Gardner.  _ Not much happened in those two weeks regarding their investigation into John Williams. They were to actually have a case come - suicide or not. But the lack of cases allowed them to really focus on John’s behaviour. They had quite expertly managed to note down anything odd without raising any suspicion, and they seemed to get an understanding of his daily routine and certain patterns he often carried out. 

They had spent most nights in the same bed together although Jack, on occasion, opted to sleep on the sofa to give Nikki some breathing space. They had thought it best to not discuss any more changes in terms of their relationship. They knew things were going to be different and were never going to go back to how they were before this whole situation. But, they both thought it best to not give a rise to this topic so instead, chose to ignore it. 

Although they had successfully - or at least they thought - convinced everyone at the new lab that they were in fact married and in love, despite the rise in tension between the two. Jack had kept the affections to a minimum as much as he could but sometimes an occasion called for extra displays much to Nikki’s chagrin. But they ignored it, if they had to step it up a notch. They just didn’t talk about it, it was the easier thing to do. 

The worst moment for Nikki was when Jack pulled her outside to discuss a change in John’s behaviour that struck him as odd. Nikki had been leaning up against the wall, Jack opposite her as they gathered their thoughts. Halfway through the conversation they had been interrupted by John himself. Not wanting to look suspicious, Jack had swiftly wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her into a kiss. At first, she wanted nothing but to push him away from her but they had to keep up with this act and pushing away your new husband and partner of about four years, didn’t exactly look right to an outsider. So she played along with it. Wanting to tease and punish Jack for forcing her into this Nikki opened her mouth, enticing him. She slipped her tongue in as the kiss deepened. Noting the feeling of Jack’s arm snake around her waist. It took everything in her power not to rake her fingers through his hair and bring him closer to her; if that was even possible given their position. 

Maybe she enjoyed it a lot more than she was giving herself credit for? And by all accounts he seemed to have enjoyed it too. But he could have been doing this for the sake of being convincing. Or was Jack just using the opportunity to wind her up even more? If he was then, it was possibly the cruelest thing he had ever done to her and it was going to take some serious planning to get her own back. 

He had finally let go of her once he was sure that they had voided themselves from any suspicious behaviour. Nikki’s eyes had searched his, for a sign. Any sign that what she had felt in the moment was something that was shared between them. But seemingly not, she had judged by Jack’s calm and collected expression. And just like that he was gone, patting John on the shoulder and saying “Sorry mate, you know how it is sometimes,” in such an arrogant way it turned Nikki’s stomach sick. Which wasn’t often a feeling she had where Jack was concerned. If that was his way of building up a friendship with John then it didn’t sit well with her. 

She was then left on her own outside with Williams, her whole body now flushed a bright shade of red. And it was very obvious that she was flustered. Which doesn’t seem right given the dynamic they had set up between  _ David  _ and  _ Isabella.  _ But luckily for Nikki, she was able to blame her roughed up appearance on the fact that the two of them had been interrupted during a seemingly ‘intimate’ moment. 

Like all the other things that had happened, they didn’t speak about it again and chose instead to keep their focus solely on the case. And it seemed to work as they carried on as normal. As though nothing had affected them. 

Nikki had however picked up a few things from Jack - cooking wise and tonight, he had challenged her to make the both of them a meal and a dessert without burning the place down. But before that, they had to go to work just like they had done for the past couple of weeks. 

Jack drove them in as per usual. It had surprised them just how quickly they had developed a routine and how neither of them had previously discussed it. It was one of those things that sort of happened, almost as if they just perfectly molded around each other's lifestyle and it seemed to suit them down to the ground. 

When they got into the lab after swiping their entry cards, Jack swiftly made his way to make himself a coffee and a cup of tea for Nikki before they sat down at their desks and cracked on with some boring paperwork they had been settled with. They seemed to have some sort of breakthrough three hours in when John had walked in through to the offices and announced that a body had been found and it was a suspected suicide. 

Nikki and Jack felt their stomachs drop at this news, this is exactly what they had been waiting for and in a strange way they were excited - despite the grim circumstances. They had finally been given an opportunity to get started on what had initially brought them here. John had asked Nikki to join him at the crime scene; they had yet to go out to a crime scene together so John was eager to see how Nikki worked her way through one. And of course, Nikki too was eager to keep a watchful eye on just how John was going to react, should he have been the one that brought this ‘suicide victim’ to his death. Luckily, being a forensic scientist, Jack had to go along with them as well so it meant that Nikki wasn’t being left on her own with John. 

They all made their way up in John’s car to save driving in seperate cars. As they got to the scene, it was how Nikki expected it to look. The picture frames had all been placed face down from where they originally sat and as they walked into the bathroom that’s when they saw him. A young man lying in a full bath of red stained water. His body was pale and the cause of death was strikingly obvious. He had long, deep cuts down the length of his arms. Nikki raised an eyebrow as she noticed that the wound on the left arm was clean whilst the other was ragged and messy. 

He was good. Of course he would know, being a pathologist, that he would’ve damaged the tendons in one arm so much that the victim would have struggled to even make a mark in the other arm. He knew how to cover his tracks, it was expertly done. If this was back in London she would’ve had no doubt that this was suicide and would never give it a second thought. But this wasn’t London and they were after a man who was murdering people and setting it up as suicide so she would definitely have to give it a second thought. 

Jack handed her a camera and she began taking photos of the body as John started examining. He looked over to her as the camera flashed, lighting up the small room. 

“What are you doing?” John asked, standing up, towering over Nikki. 

“I’m taking pictures for the file,” Nikki responded. Normally she would be confused as to why someone wouldn’t want to document a crime scene. But considering this man doesn’t want anyone to notice anything suspicious, it makes sense that he wouldn’t want Nikki taking pictures. 

John shook his head, a small smirk on his face that gave Nikki the chills, “No point. You know as well as I do that this is a suicide. The pictures are face down. There’s a clean cut on one arm and barely anything on the second arm. This is going to be an open and shut case, no need to take pictures.” 

Jack glanced over his shoulder, watching the interaction from where he was squatting on the floor. He could see that John was intimidating Nikki and he didn’t like it in the slightest. Jack rose to his full height and moved to stand behind Nikki. A small reminder to John to not push his luck. Further emphasised as he glared at him. It seemed to do the trick as John backed off and carried on investigating the body in the bath. 

Nikki let out a breath, placing the camera back in her case. She was struggling to keep biting her tongue in these situations. She was so used to being able to speak her mind but she had to remain on John’s good side, she couldn’t anger or upset him. Because to do those things, she would lose his trust and possibly out herself for not being the person that she said she was and she couldn’t risk that. 

There was one thing she did know though, it was that Thomas was going to be on the receiving end of her now stored up arguments for a very long time. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was at a crime scene and she had to be focusing on John’s actions right now because it was crucial, she would’ve allowed herself to chuckle at that thought.

Shaking her head, she moved closer to the body and helped John to map out where the man had supposedly killed himself. The thought of the man having possible needle marks, a way of pursuing him, popped into her head. But given that the majority of the body was submerged in water at this point it was hard to tell. 

And of course it didn’t help that John was right next to her watching her every move. He had already told her not to take pictures of the scene so she didn’t even want to imagine how he would react should she start looking for something that would suggest that this was anything but suicide. This was something she would have to keep an eye out for when they were to conduct the post mortem later on in the day. 

She tried her best to keep an eye on John’s movements but nothing so far seemed to jump out at her as untoward. The way he was behaving surprised her in fact, he was acting as if nothing had happened. Like he had nothing at all to do with the man lying in front of her. 

A slither of doubt flashed across her mind, maybe he didn’t have anything to do with this? Maybe this was just a simple suicide? Of course that would have to be a major coincidence considering the reason for Jack and Nikki being there in the first place. Not wanting to jump to any conclusions just yet Nikki continued as normal. Soon things will start to become clearer but that was something she’d have to wait for. And Jack possibly may have found something, turning to face him she spoke. 

“Anything?”

Jack shook his head, “Just a simple suicide,” he said matter of factly, knowing that he couldn’t say anything that would suggest otherwise. 

He had in fact found some evidence that would suggest that someone else had been in the house. A piece of hair, similar in colour and length to John’s. He, of course, couldn’t draw any attention to this so he discreetly placed the hair in a small evidence bag and stowed it away in the bag he carried around his hips. Even if this piece of hair belonged to John, it was going to take a lot to prove that he was at the scene prior to this afternoon. He could simply argue that he contaminated the scene when he arrived, but it was a start. 

There wasn’t much else they could do at the scene now, they had taken notes of their initial inspection and all there was left to do now was carry out the post mortem. Packing up their stuff back into the respective cases, all three made their way back to the car and thus back to the lab. 

As they waited for the body to arrive and for the mortuary to be prepped ready for examination, Jack took it upon himself to buy everyone lunch. It also was an opportunity for him and Nikki to get some alone time as she joined him on the lunch run. They sat in the car for a moment before they had to go back into the lab. 

“I found something at the crime scene,” Jack started, pulling out the small evidence bag from his coat pocket. “A small piece of hair that is very similar to John Williams’.”

Nikki took the bag from Jack and inspected the hair that sat in it.

“I couldn’t say anything at the scene for obvious reasons,” he continued. “But I would be very surprised if that doesn’t belong to him. Now, you’re probably thinking what I’m thinking. It doesn’t prove anything, if it were to go to court then-”

“-he could just say that he contaminated the scene when he arrived,” Nikki interrupted, finishing his sentence. Sighing, she knew this was going to be hard, “But it’s something. If we just carry on like this, finding evidence even if it’s the smallest amount. Then, eventually we’ll build up a strong case against him. We’ve just got to be patient.” 

Jack nodded, “But how long do you think we’ll have to wait?”

“How long is a piece of string?” Nikki quipped, feigning a smile. “Look, we’ve got that DNA kit back at the apartment, just keep hold of it and we’ll test it later. Have you got a DNA sample from Williams?”

“Of course I have, I got one on the first day,” Jack grinned, winking at her. 

“When did you manage that?” Nikki raised an eyebrow. “And why didn’t you mention it?”

“When you went to do that post mortem with him, I may or may not have snooped around his office and gathered all the necessary samples I needed,” Nikki opened her mouth but was quickly shushed by Jack raising his hand. “Before you say something there was no one around and I wasn’t caught. You know me Niks, I’m like a ninja when collecting evidence, I was in and out of there like a shot. Nothing to worry about.” 

Nikki rolled her eyes, “Come on then Mr Gardner, better get back in there otherwise they’ll think we’re up to no good.” 

Jack chuckled as he locked the car and followed behind her, both carrying a bag of food each. They shared the food out amongst their colleagues and ate away before one of the technicians came in to announce that the body was ready for the post mortem. They finished up what they were eating and John and Nikki headed down to the morgue. 

Jack had decided to watch the post mortem being carried out, since there was not much else he could do at that moment. So, he made himself comfortable and watched as the pair got to work. Nikki took pictures as she measured the wound on the one arm before measuring the wound on the other arm. Thankfully, John didn’t protest too much about her taking photos this time. Maybe he just understood that photos at this stage were absolutely necessary whether he liked it or not. 

Nikki gave him some space as he made the first incision. Slowly dragging the knife down the man’s chest. Nikki watched John’s expressions as he carried this out, noting any changes but he remained stoic. Just as he had at the crime scene which, once again, struck Nikki as odd. But then, if he had done this many times before, as the police suspect, then it’s no surprise that there’s a lack of emotion here. Or, he was just very good at hiding it. 

But she didn’t take her eyes off him, one day he was going to slip up and Nikki was now even more determined to catch it. As John opened up the man’s chest, they took it in turns to remove an organ and examine it individually. As they made their way through the body and bagged each organ, they both found the man to be perfectly healthy for his age. Nikki found slight cirrhosis of the liver but that wasn’t particularly surprising. 

There was nothing unusual in the stomach contents either but Nikki still took some evidence for testing, just in case. She also took some blood samples for toxicology. She hoped that if she was right about Williams possibly using the technique of subduing his victims by injecting them with some kind of sedation, then it would show on the tox results. 

Both John and Nikki were able to confirm that the man had died the previous night although an accurate time of death was particularly tricky given that he had been in the water for a fairly long amount of time. But due to the lack of blow fly larvae on and around the body he couldn’t have been dead for longer than twenty four hours. 

They finished up on the body, Nikki volunteering to sew him up. She used the opportunity of being alone with the body to quickly try to spot any needle marks. She picked up a magnifying glass and scanned the body. Sharing a glance with Jack who was still in the observation room but was now leaning on the railings, eager to know if Nikki had found anything. Unfortunately, she shook her head. There was nothing. Not a single indication that this man had fallen victim to John Williams. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed. But then how could she expect to solve this whole mess with the first person who’s wheeled through the door. The only slight chance they had was what may come of the toxicology results and if that piece of hair Jack found really did belong to him. 

She knew he was going to be good at hiding his tracks but this was on another level. Having to wait around and take their time to build their evidence was fully expected but not to this extent. This was just something else. Sighing, Nikki pulled her gloves off and headed to the changing room. She took her time to get changed, digesting all her thoughts on everything that had happened so far today. John showed no signs of distress whenever he was dealing with the body yet Jack found possible traces of hair. And given the fact he didn’t like Nikki taking photos at the scene of the crime just shows that something isn’t right. 

It wasn’t long before she was making her way back out to the offices to join Jack once again. She walked straight past her chair, choosing instead to perch herself on Jack’s desk which was starting to become a bit of a regular thing now. 

“Have they sent the tests off?” She asked, looking down at him. 

Jack nodded, “Rachel has just sent them. Should get them back by the end of the day,” he paused, tilting his head up to her. Lowering his voice now, “Something tells me we’re not going to find anything though.”

Nikki leaned in closer to hear him better, “How so?”

“Instinct. He’s been getting away with this for way too long. If you’re right with your theory, even if you didn’t find any obvious signs today then wouldn’t they have found something in the tests run before?” He pointed out, whispering as quiet as he possibly could. “I wouldn’t be surprised if either he tampers with the tests or he isn’t working on his own.” 

Nikki shook her head, “More likely to be the former. In most cases like these, the perpetrator works alone. They can’t trust anyone else. They don't want anyone else to bask in the glory that they get from these killings, it’s too personal, too enthralling for them to share that feeling with anyone else.” 

Jack rested his elbows on the desk, bringing his face closer to Nikki’s, “We’re risking it talking about all of this now, don’t you think?”

“Come on now  _ David,  _ I thought you liked living on the edge,” Nikki giggled. 

The rest of their day remained uneventful with not much going on. That seemed to be the theme Jack and Nikki had noticed when it came to Cornwall. Uneventful, not much happened. At least, not much happened compared to the volume of cases they were used to in London. That was probably one of the biggest things that they were yet to grow accustomed to. Back at the Lyell, not a day went by where they weren’t working on some kind of case. But here, it could be days or even weeks before something substantial came in. 

There wasn’t much left of their shift when Rachel came in with the toxicology results and just as Jack had predicted, they were all clear. No suggestion towards foul play at all. For the second time that day, Nikki was disappointed to say the least. And it was odd. She would’ve expected to see some toxicology of whatever kind but there was nothing. Especially considering the slight state of this man’s liver. 

With the results in, Jack and Nikki saw no need for hanging around and John had already gone so they decided to leave early. Popping into the shop on the way back to pick up some ingredients in anticipation for what was either going to be a miracle or a disaster. 

Once they got back into the apartment Nikki laid all her ingredients out on the counter. She decided it was probably best to make the dessert first and Jack had challenged her to a cheesecake which by all accounts seemed pretty easy. She mashed up the biscuit crumbs, adding in some melted butter and flattened it down at the bottom of a lined tray and made a start on the cheese side of the cheesecake. She did have to ask Jack for help at this point though because she got confused in the middle and missed a step. 

As Jack was stirring all the ingredients together, he turned to her, “How come you never learned to cook?”

Nikki shrugged her shoulders as she started chopping up the vegetables for her main course; a vegetable lasagna. “Never got round to it which is surprising really because I’ve lived alone for most of my life. But I suppose losing my mum at such a young age didn’t help. She always used to make me my favourite meals whenever I was upset and she’d always get me to help out. It used to be my favourite time of the day. Coming home from school and creating something delicious with her. When she died I just lost interest in food, there wasn’t any excitement there for me anymore.” 

“How old were you?” Jack was now pouring the mixture over the biscuit base. “If you don’t mind me asking that is. You never really speak about your parents that much.” 

“Fourteen.” 

Jack winced at that, “Right when you probably needed her the most as well.” 

Nikki nodded, swallowing the lump growing in her throat, “Exactly.”

He finished flattening the cheesecake and placed it in the fridge before announcing that he was going to go for a shower and should Nikki need any help then all she had to do was “shout.” 

Jack let the warm water cascade down his body, clearing his mind as the room steamed up. Thinking back to the post mortem earlier he tried to recall anything that stood out to him in particular but nothing seemed to come to the forefront of his mind. But maybe that was what struck him as odd and he was sure that Nikki was thinking the same as him. He seemed too calm, too collected about the whole ordeal, striking this doubt in Jack that maybe it wasn’t him. But that doesn’t explain how that hair got there. They had all arrived at the scene at the same time and where Jack found this piece of evidence, John hadn’t even gone to that area. So unless it was a huge coincidence then it was unlikely that this piece of hair should be there. That was if the piece of hair belonged to Williams in the first place. 

It wasn’t long until his thoughts had turned to Nikki. She was driving him crazy. Just the feeling of her being close to him was enough to push him over the edge. He’d be lying if he said that he hadn’t taken great pleasure in having these moments where he was allowed to be affectionate with her and kiss her whenever he could - even if he was kissing her as  _ David  _ and not Jack. That was what was killing him the most, it was just an act. Just pretend. Whatever was going on between them wasn’t real. And any other feelings that were being mixed in between were just a result of them getting confused in this weird reality. That doesn’t mean to say he couldn’t enjoy it though, at least while he could anyway.

Switching off the water he almost jumped out and wrapped the towel around the lower half of his body. He sat on the edge of the bed, shivering as the water droplets from his hair dribbled down the back of his neck. He lifted his head as the smell of melted cheese wafted into the room. A smile graced his face, it smelled amazing and there was this sense of pride for Nikki in the pit of his stomach. In many ways, as much as John Williams made him feel sick, he wished this could last forever. Him and Nikki working together and living together without anyone judging them - not anyone important to them anyway. He knew he had feelings for Nikki, he always had he supposed. She had reeled him in on the first day they met and ever since then she’s had his heart, she just didn’t know it yet.

What really solidified those feelings for him was Mexico. Almost losing her nearly ended him. The thought of not having her around him anymore broke him. He had grown so used to her being there, being someone he could always rely on and trust. Whether that being romantically or platonically Jack didn’t really care, having her, if that was all it was ever going to be was enough for him. Of course, he would’ve preferred the former but he had come to accept that you can’t have everything in life and sometimes you just had to appreciate what you had and make the most of it. 

The noise of his stomach grumbling pulled him from his thoughts and reminded him that he was still sitting on the bed in just a towel. He stood up once again and got himself dressed before returning to the kitchen.

Surprisingly Nikki managed to get through it all pretty quickly and without too much struggle. It had been in the oven for some time when Jack had joined her. But it still needed some time to ‘crispen up.’ Although Nikki was checking in on it every five minutes just to make sure she hadn’t burnt it.

Now they had nothing to do but wait for their dinner to finish cooking, Jack couldn’t think of a better time to pull out his DNA testing kit and really see if the hair that they had found at the crime scene really did belong to John Williams. Being a piece of hair rather than a saliva sample, Jack knew it was going to take a little bit longer to extract the DNA but he had got to work straight away. And with him being a forensic genius they had got a result in little to no time. It was a match. And unlike how Nikki had been feeling for the majority of the day, she finally felt as though they had had a breakthrough. Albeit, a small breakthrough that might not lead them anywhere in particular but it was something and it was a start. 

“Well,” Jack let out. 

“Yeah,” Nikki breathed. Neither quite knowing what to say at this revelation. “Can you be sure that he didn’t just contaminate the scene when we arrived? I mean, we’ve all done it at some point. It’s not as if this doesn’t happen.”

Jack nodded, “He could’ve. But, where I found this strand, it was nowhere near where John had been so it would’ve been almost impossible for it to get there. Unless, he was there before and considering why we’re here then I’m going to go for the latter.”

“But you know as well as I do that we can’t prove that,” Nikki pointed out. 

“I know,” Jack dropped his head. “But as you keep saying, something is better than nothing. It’s just another brick in our wall of evidence. We just keep working from here and hopefully that wall will build up quite nicely.” 

Nikki smiled fondly, “Hopefully,” she stopped, turning back to the oven. “I better go check on the food. Make sure I haven’t crucified it.”

Jack couldn’t help but laugh as he started packing up the equipment and putting it back in it’s safe place. He followed behind Nikki, grabbing two plates and filling them up a glass of water each. He peered over her shoulder as she dished up the food.

“I’m impressed,” he raised his eyebrows. 

“You’ve got to taste it yet,” Nikki remarked, looking up to him, grinning. 

She dished it up and Jack carried the plates to the table as Nikki carried their drinks. They ate in silence, much like they had most evenings. Although they both pulled a face at each other, out of shock. Nikki hadn’t just made something that was edible but something that actually tastes good. If it wasn’t for the fact that they had a cheesecake waiting for them in the fridge, Jack would’ve happily helped himself to some seconds.

Nikki was soon slicing up the cheesecake and had cut up some strawberries for the side. They ate that in silence too. It was delicious. Although Jack would argue that it was only because he had helped but seeing Nikki so happy about herself having made something, he decided to save the comment for another time. 

Placing his spoon onto the plate and taking a sip from his drink he spoke, “What do you normally eat then if you don’t make yourself food?”

Nikki finished the mouthful she was eating before replying, “I usually buy myself ready meals or I’ll make myself something basic like pasta or potatoes.”

“All that and you still manage to keep your figure?” Jack felt himself blush as soon as the words fell out of his mouth. It didn’t help that Nikki’s eyes had widened in response. 

She coughed, not quite sure what to say to that. She’d settled on, “I go running most mornings.” 

“Why haven’t you done that since we’ve been here? Unless you’re going out at some ungodly hour,” he asked.

Nikki shrugged, “I don’t know. This whole thing has just taken over, I haven’t found the need to really. I do miss it though.”

“I could go with you if you like. I normally run in the mornings as well,” Jack offered. “Promise I won’t run off without you though.”

Nikki laughed at that before considering what Jack had said, “You’re on.”

“Really?” He was surprised, half expecting Nikki to tell him to jog on - if you pardon the pun. “What do you say tomorrow morning then? Before work?” Jack stood up, gathering all the dishes and taking them to the sink, turning back to face Nikki who was still sitting at the table. “I hope you’ve got your running gear ready.”

“Of course,” Nikki teased, winking at him. 

And with that they had settled themselves on the sofa, having decided to watch a film together before they had to go to bed. Missing the excitement that they usually got from London they chose to watch some crime thriller. They did, however, manage to work out who the killer was not ten minutes into the film but carried on watching anyway just so they had something to do. 

It wasn’t long before Nikki was dozing off, leaning on Jack’s arm. He gazed down at her, the warmth spreading through his body, making his skin tingle. He really shouldn’t get used to this but he couldn’t help but enjoy the feeling of her body pressed against his. It just felt so normal and just so right. Almost as if they were always meant to end up like this. Or maybe he was just being hopeful and this mixed reality really was worming its way into his brain and messing with his head.

Sighing, he nudged her gently, stirring her from her light slumber. She looked up at him, her eyes drooping heavily. Oh if only they were actually married, Jack would’ve taken great pleasure in capturing those sweet lips in his own. It took everything in his power not to. But that was hard when he knew just how they felt against his own, how soft they were and how much he un-admittedly craved them. His lips twitched. 

“I think it’s time for someone to get to bed I think,” he spoke softly. “Got to get some extra shut-eye if you ever have a chance of beating me on this run tomorrow.”

Nikki poked him in the chest, “Shut up.” She pushed herself off from him, bringing herself to her feet. “Are you coming?”

Jack shook his head, “I think I’ll sleep out here tonight.” It was for the best, especially with all the thoughts that had been running around his head today. If he slept in the same bed as her tonight then that would be risking it and he honestly thought he wouldn’t be able to control himself. Wanting to save himself from the embarrassment of being rejected, he’d settled on giving himself a bad back instead. 

Nikki raised an eyebrow as she looked down at him, hands on her hips. “Suit yourself then,” and then she was gone, slipping behind the bedroom door. 

Exhaling, he stood up. He pulled out a glass from the cupboard and poured himself a glass of water. He gulped it down, letting the crisp liquid trickle down his throat, quenching it. Clearing his head at the same time. He placed the cup down on the draining board. He edged closer to the door leading to the bedroom. He leaned against the panel, his fingers brushing over the handle, toying with the idea of pushing it down. He quickly decided against that thought and returned back to the sofa, making himself as comfortable as he possibly could. 

Little did he know, Nikki had almost been mirroring his actions on the other side. She had heard him. A smile dancing over her lips, almost hoping that he would open it. But she felt her heart sink as she heard him walk away. She turned her back to the door and got changed. Tucking herself under the covers, she burrowed herself on the side Jack usually slept on. The faint smell that was just  _ him  _ comforting her as she drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

They woke up the next day and just as they had promised - or rather challenged - each other, they were outside their apartment ready to go for their run. Nikki had scraped her blonde hair back into a ponytail. Jack had opted to wear his running vest which meant Nikki had a hard time trying to find somewhere other than his biceps to look at. Jack watched Nikki’s eyes wander, knowing exactly where they were trying to not to land on. A smirk creeped upon his face but he chose to remain quiet, some things were better left unsaid. 

“You ready?” Jack asked, his Irish accent strong. 

Nikki nodded, saying nothing. And with that they were off. They started off slow, keeping up a steady pace. They had been running for quite a while when Jack started slowing down, coming to a stop. Noticing the lack of presence next to her, Nikki too came to a halt. 

“What’s wrong?” She questioned, her breath now ragged.

Jack looked down at his watch, checking the time whilst stretching out the muscles in his legs. “Well, we’re nearly home. I was thinking we could race. Work up a bit of competitiveness that I so dearly miss,” he mocked, pulling a face.

“Are you sure you want to challenge me to a race?” Nikki grinned, raising an eyebrow. 

“You sound very confident for someone who barely reaches my shoulder,” he edged closer to her, anticipating her. “Even with her heels on.” 

Nikki feigned shock, keeping her stance as he stood directly opposite her. She could feel his breath on her skin. She was thankful for the fact that they had been running otherwise she wouldn’t be able to blame anything other than her attraction towards Jack for her rise in temperature. “Right, you’re on then. Loser has to buy the drinks tonight.” 

“That’s fair game,” he winked. 

They set themselves up behind an imaginary line and after a count of three they were off. At first Nikki was keeping up well with Jack and it was neck and neck. But it wasn’t long before she could feel herself losing her breath and starting to slow down. Jack picked up on this and not wanting Nikki to lose he shortened his steps and allowed Nikki to pass him. As soon as she noticed that she was ahead of him, that was all the encouragement she needed and she sped off. She reached the entrance to their apartment complex first and Jack wasn’t far behind. 

Her face beamed with excitement as she laughed at Jack who was pretending to be out of breath and worn out. “I guess I’m buying the drinks then,” he exhaled.

“I told you I would win,” she mocked, poking him in the back causing him to straighten up. He stood up to his full height, his body looming over hers. But not in a way that scared her or made her uncomfortable but rather enticed her. Electrified her. She could feel her heart rate increasing and it had nothing to do with the run they just had. They stayed there for a moment, their eyes locked with one another. Their breaths shallow and in time with each other.

Nikki cleared her throat, breaking the tension. She backed away, increasing the distance between the pair. She started making her way through the entrance. Jack followed behind her after a beat, not sure of what may happen should they recreate whatever happened just then. But at the same time it spurred him on, Nikki could deny the spark all she wanted but it was definitely there. And Jack was starting to wonder how long it was going to take them until they snapped and finally gave in to those feelings. 

They spent the next month or so just carrying on as they were. Trying to collect any evidence and noting down all the odd types of behaviour from John. They went running nearly every morning which had actually helped them to clear their head and allowed them to focus on the case. And just like everything else, it had seemed to fit into their routine perfectly. 

They had another suicide two weeks prior. But just like the first one, they hadn’t found anything. Nothing on the body that would suggest foul play and nothing around where the body had been found that would make you suspect that someone had been there. 

Although it had only been the second suicide that had come in they couldn’t help but let it get to them. It was frustrating and it was starting to put a strain on their relationship; both trying their hardest to not take their frustrations out on one another. The running was helping them but there was still that underlying friction they were choosing to ignore. He was too good for them but they had made a promise and they couldn’t give up. They had to stay there for as long as possible and they had to convict him. The thought of the these people having just actually comitted suicide and had nothing to do with them falling victim to Williams did flash across their mind on a daily basis. But they just had to hope - in a sick way - that this wasn’t the case. They were going to get him and they were going to bring him down. 

Today was the third and very similar to the first one that had come in. They had arrived at a house and just like before, a young man was found in the upstairs bathroom in a pool of his own blood. The picture frames, again, lying face down. The staples of a suicide. Although unlike the first victim who had cut along his wrists, this man had supposedly cut across his thighs. Jack was investigating downstairs, trying his damndest to find anything that was out of the ordinary, anything that would suggest anything other than suicide.

Meanwhile, Nikki was upstairs with John. She had opened her case and reached for the camera before quickly retreating her hand, remembering how John had told her before that there was no need. Something he had aptly reminded her of at the second suicide. She really was struggling to keep her mouth shut. At first it annoyed her but now it was starting to aggravate her. She would bring his professionalism into question but given their reasoning for being there, that was the last thing she was worried about. 

She watched as he worked his way round the body. Unlike the two previous times, he seemed to look more pained rather than unbothered. Perhaps, this wasn’t a stranger to him but maybe someone he knew. Whether that be well or not she couldn’t tell but this was standing out to her compared to the others. 

She too started to take her typical notes of the body, just as she had done a countless number of times. But like the others, everything that she could point out just suggested suicide. Ultimately not that different from the others. 

“There seems to be a lot of suicides around here,” Nikki dared to ask, curious as to how John would answer this one.

He snapped his head up to look at her, “What, compared to London? Last I heard the suicide rate in London was nearly double than anywhere else in the UK,” he replied, almost irritated by Nikki’s question; at least, that’s what she could gather.

“It was just a simple observation,” Nikki defended herself. “That’s all that seems to come in.”

“Well Dr Gardner I do apologise that Cornwall doesn’t live up to your standards,” the tone of his voice made her uncomfortable, making her shift from where she was squatting down on the floor. “I thought that’s what you came down here for anyway, a bit of peace and quiet.” 

“Quite right,” Nikki breathed, not liking his reaction at all. 

“We’re not all murderers around here you know,” he quipped, causing a shiver to run down Nikki’s spine. 

As if on cue, Jack rounded the corner, providing her with a sense of relief. 

“Everything alright?” He questioned, his eyes flitting between the two, picking up on the obvious tension in the room. 

“Fine,” Nikki remarked, switching her focus back to the body that was in front of her. “Did you find anything interesting downstairs?” 

Jack shook his head, “No.” 

Nikki’s eyes connected with Jack’s and he knew instantly that there was something wrong and she was feeling anxious. Not quite sure of what had happened before he walked in he decided to hang around, not wanting to leave her with him. Not that he ever wanted to leave her with him but he couldn’t help it sometimes. 

Thankfully, they had wrapped up on the crime scene pretty quickly and soon were making their way back to the lab. And it wasn’t long before John and Nikki were carrying out the post mortem. Still on edge about whatever had happened between the two and not having the chance to pull Nikki to one side and ask her properly, Jack knew he wouldn’t be able to settle unless he was able to be with Nikki and watch out for her. So just as he had done at the post mortem of the first suicide, he sat in the observation room and watched over them. 

He gazed over at Nikki, admiring every movement she made. He’d always loved watching her work, how she seemed to get lost in the zone. It really was mesmerising. He knew he was meant to be keeping an eye on John but he couldn’t help but get distracted by her. She was always his weakness. 

Nikki could feel Jack’s eyes boring into her but she tried her best to ignore him as she concentrated on John. He was definitely acting differently with this case. She took bloods for toxicology whilst John sliced his scalpel into the man’s skin and down the length of his body. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as it truly dawned on her in that moment that this man standing in front of her, really took some kind of sick pleasure from killing these people and almost torturing them further after death. It took everything in her power to swallow the lump in her throat and hide her reaction. She just had to hope and pray that they found something, anything, that would help them to bring this man down so he could stop killing these innocent people. 

John was soon handing Nikki the heart who was now weighing it before dissecting it only to reveal, as she had expected, that it was perfectly healthy, save for some atheroma in the arteries but that was not unusual. He then passed her the lungs; the same result. She repeated herself for the remainder of the organs. 

She also measured the cuts on his legs, taking pictures as well. She did notice that there were previous signs of self-inflicted wounds on the surrounding skin. Then the penny dropped, that may be how he was able to select his victims. She hadn’t noticed any obvious signs of self-harm on the previous victims but she wouldn’t be surprised that if she went looking, she’d find them to have a history of depression or possibly other forms of mental illness. They didn’t have much chance to look at the background of the previous victims due to the fact that they were open and shut cases but now she had a line of enquiry, she may be able to get their files. But that was going to have to be something that was done outside of work. 

Nikki was pulled from her thoughts with John’s voice asking her if he was keeping her from something. She hadn’t realised just how much she had gone into her own little bubble and now she could feel Jack glaring at her, she couldn’t afford to zone out. And this was really going to piss him off.  _ How could she be so careless?  _

Not wanting to draw anymore attention to the fact that she wasn’t concentrating she simply answered him “No,” and continued to assist him as they finished up the post mortem. She took her time as she got changed, for no other reason than the fact that she knew she was going to have Jack being angry with her. And she wasn’t sure if she was in the mood for that. And if they were to argue then there was always that risk of them shouting something they shouldn’t and then it would be game over for them. 

Sighing, she buttoned up the last of her shirt and headed back to her desk. And just as she had anticipated, Jack was sitting at his own desk, his face like thunder. Not wanting to rise to his bait; she had learnt from past experiences that it never ended well, she sat down in her chair and shut him out. Pretending that he wasn’t there. It probably wasn’t her best idea when she could feel him watching her every move. Exhaling, she stood up once again and headed out of the room and made her way over to the lab where she found Rachel. 

Nikki had come to grow fairly close to Rachel over the past month and a half. She would never say that they were the closest of friends and there was something about her that Nikki didn’t totally trust. But then she had been suspicious about most of the people working here. But, sometimes it was nice just having another woman that she could talk to. It made her realise just how much she was missing Clarissa which reminded her that she would have to give her a call soon, check in and see how her and Thomas were coping without them. 

“Have they sent the tests off yet?” Nikki questioned, leaning on the doorframe. 

Rachel glanced up to her, nodding, “Yeah, I just sent them,” she paused, her eyebrows knitting together as Nikki wasn’t moving. “Everything else okay?” 

Nikki shook her head, the tears filling up in her eyes, “It’s J-” she stopped herself before she could say it. “Just  _ David _ ,” she continued, almost breathing a sigh of relief for saving herself. That was the first time she had almost slipped up in front of someone,  _ what was wrong with her today?  _

“What’s happened?” Rachel queried, standing up and edging closer to Nikki so that she was now opposite her. “Can I get you a cup of tea?” 

“Please,” Nikki breathed, shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t know he just seems off with me. I don’t know if it’s being in this new environment and we’re just not completely used to it yet but things don’t feel right,” she took the mug from Rachel as she handed it to her. “Thank you.”

“Have you spoken to him about how you’re feeling?”

Nikki was shaking her head again, “No. We normally talk about everything, not a word goes unsaid. He’s my best friend. But these past couple of weeks, things are just different, I feel like I’m losing the closest person to me and that terrifies me.” 

“Oh  _ Is _ ,” Rachel smiled, placing a hand on Nikki’s arm. “Just talk to him, I’ve seen how you are with each other. The both of you are as thick as thieves. Whatever is going on between the two of you, I’m sure you’ll work it out. It must be a bit of a kick in the teeth though.”

“What do you mean?” Nikki’s eyebrows furrowing, not quite sure of what Rachel was getting at. 

Rachel sipped at her own drink before carrying on, “Well you thought that coming down here and having a more peaceful lifestyle was going to help things and so far, that hasn’t worked. How are things going in that department anyway, any luck?”

Nikki tried to stop her eyes from widening as she realised what she was implying. She just simply dropped her head, to look at her feet, “No,” was her reply, uncertain of what the best thing was to say in answer to that kind of question. 

Rachel rolled her eyes despite Nikki not looking in her direction, “That’s your problem then isn’t it?” Nikki snapped her head up. “Don’t look at me like that! Come on, when was the last time you had sex?” 

Now Nikki really was out of her depth, how was she supposed to respond to that? She settled on, “I don’t think I want to answer that.” 

“Exactly,” Rachel winked at her, noticing that she was now blushing. “What you two need is some good, old fashioned bonding trust me. You need to get rid of that tension and you know as much as I do that there’s only one way to do that. Go home tonight and have the night of your lives. Tomorrow, you’ll be like different people and you’ll be able to work through whatever it is that’s happened.” 

Nikki bit the inside of her lip, trying not to burst into laughter. If only she knew that her and Jack weren’t actually married and what she had just told her to go off and do would never happen, not in a million years. She desperately searched for an answer in her head, increasingly becoming aware that she was actually yet to say something. 

She allowed herself a small smile as she said “Thank you.” 

Rachel’s face mirrored hers, “There’s no need to thank me you idiot. I’m here whenever you need me and if things don’t go how they plan tonight then just try another night. But something tells that this will be water off a duck’s back by tomorrow. Now we best get on with some work before John kills us for standing around and gossiping.” 

Nikki felt her heart drop as she heard those last words, oh if only she knew that too. She gulped back the rest of the tea before handing the mug back to Rachel, thanking her once again. Then she was making her way back to the offices only to find that John was now talking to Jack and neither of them looked particularly happy. 

“Where have you been?” Jack demanded. 

Nikki’s eyes flicked between the two men, “I needed to talk to Rachel.” 

“Isabella, do I pay you to stand around and talk all day?” John remarked, folding his arms. 

“Hold on a minute,” Nikki held her hands up in the air. “I went to ask if the tests had been sent off.” 

“And that takes you half an hour?” 

“I needed to ask her about something else,” Nikki was having to physically bite her tongue, she was about two seconds away from snapping. 

“Could it not have waited till after work?” John raised an eyebrow at her. 

“What exactly is going on here?” She retorted, not entirely impressed that Jack was remaining quiet. “Why am I being questioned?”

“Dr Gardner, I am simply reminding you that this is a workplace and if you wish to gossip with your friends you might want to re-evaluate your priorities,” his tone was harsh and it wasn’t sitting well with her at all. “I don’t know what’s going on with you today but you seem to have your head in the clouds. So sort it out otherwise I’ll have to reconsider your job here.” 

Nikki was gobsmacked, feeling as though her jaw had hit the floor, “You can’t be serious?” 

“Unless you sort out your attitude pronto, you’ll find out, won’t you?” and then he disappeared without another word. 

Nikki turned her head to Jack, glaring at him, “Well thank you for that, you were a great help,” she scoffed as she sat down in her chair. 

“What do you want me to say? You brought it on yourself,” Jack tightened his fist as it rested on the table. “I don’t know what is wrong with you today but if you carry on like this you are going to ruin everything,” he had lowered his voice now but the hint of anger remained in his tone. 

“I am  _ not  _ having this argument with you now,” she said through gritted teeth, her nostrils flaring as she tried to remain calm but that only resulted in the tears falling down her cheek. One day she’d learn to be able to control her emotions so she didn’t end up breaking in front of people and making herself look weak when she needed to remain strong and not show that they were getting to her. 

They didn’t speak to each other for the rest of the day. Although Nikki was itching to have it out with him, she couldn’t risk losing her temper. If she hadn’t almost messed things up already then she was bound to if she started arguing with him there and then. That didn’t mean she couldn’t glare at him at various points throughout the day however. She made a point of doing it at least once an hour, just so he would be fully aware of how angry and betrayed he had made her feel. He seemed to have taken up the same idea as her though as she caught his eye every time she turned to look in his direction. 

The journey home at the end of the day was also excruciatingly deafening. At least when they were in work they were able to have some distance and they had the option to leave the room but when they were in the car, they didn’t exactly have anywhere to go. Nikki was biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from letting go then, she didn’t want to be responsible for causing Jack to crash the car on top of everything else. 

When they had got back into their apartment, it wasn’t long before Jack had started slamming cupboards, huffing each time. Nikki stood in the open room, her arms crossed as she watched his rage increasing, her own temper starting to spill over the edge. 

“Can you stop doing that please,” she called out. “They’ll come off their hinges if you carry on.” 

Jack stopped, snapping his head up to look at her. His jaw clenched. He then flicked his head back to the cupboard he had just opened and pulled out a glass, pouring himself some water. He gulped it down in one swoop before placing it down on the counter sharply, the sound of the glass clanging against the marble echoed through the room. 

“Have you finished?” She demanded, straightening her back to give her more height in the hope that she would come across as more threatening. It didn’t seem to work though because one shared look with Jack and she felt tiny under his gaze. 

“I haven’t even started yet,” he spat. “Do you realise what you have done today? I don’t know where your head has been but we are one step away from losing everything we have worked for.” He stayed where he was, not wanting to risk edging closer to her. He knew he could be intimidating at times and as much as he was infuriated with her, he didn’t want to scare her.

“And it’s all my fault?” 

“Right now, yes. First there’s whatever happened at the crime scene, I walk in and it looks as though the two of you have argued. You’re meant to be trying to befriend him, not pissing him off,” he started. Nikki stayed quiet, wanting to know just exactly what Jack had to say. “Then the post mortem, you just went into your own little world? Why? You’re meant to be using that opportunity to see if he’s acting weird. And then you just walk off and go have a gossip with your new mate? What’s that about? We can’t trust anyone Nikki, don’t you get that? For all we know, they could all be in on it. And if they get a sniff that we’re not who we say we are then that’s it. Game over.” 

Nikki swallowed the lump in her throat, desperately trying to fight back the tears, “So, I’ve messed everything up then?” 

Jack shook his head, “That is not what I’m saying Nikki, I just me-”

“-no that is exactly what you’re saying. I have had one.  _ One  _ bad day and you’re acting as if I committed those murders myself,” Nikki scoffed, the level of her voice increasing as she felt the anger almost surging through her veins. 

“I am simply reminding you that we can’t have another day like today,” Jack was trying his hardest to keep himself calm but he could hear the tone in Nikki’s voice and the adrenaline had already started pumping around his body. 

“Do you not realise how hard it is for me?” Nikki remarked, making her way closer to Jack. “You don’t have to stand there with him. Watch him put a knife into somebody, knowing that he was doing that not ten hours before we find the body. He makes me feel physically sick Jack. And the fact that we haven’t found  _ anything  _ so far. So please, forgive me for having one day where I’m struggling to come to terms with what we’re doing.” She could feel her voice wobbling towards the end but she was determined to not let the tears escape. 

Jack almost chuckled causing Nikki’s stomach to drop, “It’s always about you isn’t it? Well news flash Nikki, I’m struggling as well,” he was starting to tip over the edge now. “I want to nail that bastard as much as you do. But you don’t see me having off days. I’m getting on with it because I have to. It is so important that we don’t mess up.” 

“Well if that’s how you feel Jack,” she turned, heading towards the bedroom. “I’ll leave, get out of your hair so  _ you _ can bring him down.” 

“Yeah well maybe you should,” he snapped, instantly regretting saying that as he watched Nikki stop suddenly. She wasn’t even looking at him and he knew that those tears she had tried to keep back were now falling down her cheeks. He sighed, “Nikki, I didn’t mean that.” 

Nikki just shook her head and continued on her path to the bedroom. She could feel that Jack was now following behind her but it didn’t stop her as she started pulling her clothes out of the wardrobe, dropping them on the floor before trying to find the suitcase. 

“Nikki,” Jack spoke. He could see that she had picked up the suitcase. Wanting her to listen to what he had to say he reached out and tried to grab it off her. “Please, listen.” 

“No I get it Jack, you were right. I’m clearly not cut out for this and you are doing a great job so I will phone Thomas and I’ll be out of your hair tomorrow,” she scowled. “And then you won’t have to worry about a thing.” 

Jack groaned, “Do you know how infuriating you are sometimes.”

“Me? Jack have you met yourself?” Nikki remarked. 

“And what is that supposed to mean?” 

Nikki shook her head, scoffing, “I’m not getting into that right now.” 

“You’ve started, you might as well finish,” Jack was the one crossing his arms now. “Go on, say it.” 

“Fine,” Nikki dropped the dress she was holding onto the bed. “You can be pig-headed and arrogant. Once you’ve got your ideas set about something then that’s it, everyone else is wrong. You always have to be right about everything.” 

“Is that it?” Jack rolled his eyes. “Because from where I’m standing you’ve just described yourself.”

Jack felt his cheek stinging the moment her palm connected to his skin. He had certainly underestimated her in that department, she may be small but she can pack a punch. He would’ve held his hand to where she had just slapped him but her fists were rising again. He swiftly took hold of her wrists, preventing her from moving. He was probably holding onto them too tightly but right now he wasn’t sure what her next move was going to be so he couldn’t risk it. He watched as her chest rose and fell, he had never seen Nikki this angry. She’d lost her temper often but not to this extent. It dawned on him just how much he had wound her up and maybe he deserved that slap, even though it was going to hurt for a while. 

His eyes caught hers and he wasn’t sure what was coming over him but he was leaning further into her, bringing their faces closer together. He stopped momentarily but she wasn’t backing away. He could feel her breath tickling and cooling his now very red cheek. Before he even had time to plan his next movements, Nikki’s lips crashed into his. She was kissing him. She made that move. He had dropped her wrists instantly, choosing instead to wrap his arms around her waist as the kiss deepened. 

Nikki was soon pulling her hands through Jack’s hair, gripping at it with force causing him to moan which only stirred her on more. She felt his lips leave hers as oxygen was becoming necessary but her fingers had dropped from the back of his neck and were now making a start on the buttons at the top of his t-shirt. He was quickly pulling it over the top of his head, now wanting to waste any more time. His hands grabbed at her as he backed her on to the bed. 

He was now looming over her and it wasn’t long before his lips were attacking the bare skin of her neck. He raked his teeth over her flesh, nipping at it now and again knowing it was going to leave a mark. He was soon travelling down her body, popping open the buttons of her shirt as he went. He reached the top of her jeans, swiftly unbuckling them he then pulled them down her legs along with her underwear, leaving her exposed in front of him. 

If there wasn’t this want and need for her skin to be pressed against his, he would’ve taken this moment to really drink her in. But he didn’t have any time to think as Nikki was now grasping at his belt. She really wasn’t wasting her time as she quickly pulled it off and was now making work with getting his trousers off him. He stepped out of them and his boxers and he was back to hovering over her. Leaning down he captured her lips in his, bringing his hand up to rest on her neck, gently toying with the pressure point. 

He reached between them, running his hand along his length before pushing into her. He was attacking her neck with his mouth again as she gasped. Bringing his hand up, he knitted his fingers through hers and held on tightly as he started to rock. She was squirming under him and if Jack still wasn’t feeling this frustration towards her he would’ve revelled in this moment. He finally had Dr Nikki Alexander under him, clawing at his skin with either desperation or anger, he couldn’t quite tell. 

Jack lips had soon travelled back to hers, he could feel them swollen under his. He bit down on her bottom lip hard, causing the groan to escape from the back of her throat. It only spurred him on more as his pace quickened. He could’ve sworn he could taste the metallic tang of her blood and if he wasn’t already turned on enough then he certainly was now and it was bringing him closer to the edge. 

Thoughts were racing through his head as he nuzzled his mouth into the space between her jaw and her neck, nipping at it as he heard her breaths becoming more shallow. He was unbelievably angry at her, in many ways he couldn’t quite describe. He was annoyed at her for being so idiotic and so reckless. He wasn’t sure what had got them to this moment and as much as he was enjoying it he knew that this was probably the thing that was going to end their friendship. It was going to ruin them. It was going to be the biggest mistake he had ever made, and he made quite a few. 

Nikki’s anger, on the other hand, had dissipated. But she was still upset with him and she was still irritated by him but right in this very moment, with him pushing into her and making her feel things she had never felt before. She couldn’t keep her mind concentrated on one thing. And she was sure that Jack was feeling the same too, otherwise he would’ve stopped this whole thing before it was too late. 

His breath hitched as she felt him tighten around her, she was close and he was not far behind. He increased his pace further, not wanting to let that feeling go. His hand that was still around her neck tightened as her breaths quickened. He felt himself spill over that edge as her orgasm washed over her. She was pulsating around him and he wondered if that feeling was ever going to stop. He breathed into her skin as he came down from his high. There was a sheen of sweat sticking on his body and he was sure that he had flushed a bright shade of red and if he was being honest, Nikki was in a situation not too dissimilar from him.

He collapsed to the side of her, breathing heavy. But Nikki wasn’t hanging around as she picked up her clothes that had been strewn to the floor and was heading towards the bathroom, wiping at her cheeks as she left. She sat on the toilet seat, her head in her hands as she let the sobs escape. Standing up, she ran the back of her hand across her eyes, drying them. Taking a deep breath she turned towards the shower and switched it on. Whilst she waited for the water to warm up, she discarded the rest of her clothes and jumped in. The water instantly washed away the feeling of what had just happened. 

The thought of losing Jack was what scared her the most and she was sure this was going to break them. Being here was already testing their relationship and now they’d added that on top? They would never survive something like this. She had feelings for Jack, of course she did, but this was never how she imagined she would resolve those feelings. And now she would never get the chance to resolve those feelings properly because now Jack would probably never want to speak to her again. 

And they still had the case to solve. The thought of that made her cry even harder. She really had messed things up, even more now than she had before. She let the hot water wash away at her. 

Jack, suddenly feeling very bare, decided to get himself dressed and head into the kitchen. They had been so caught up in the moment, he hadn’t realised the time and the fact that they had only just got home from work not even an hour ago. His stomach growled at him, reminding him that he was in need of some food. He wasn’t in the mood for making a fancy meal, not with what just happened so he settled on a sandwich. 

His eyes glanced over to the bathroom as Nikki appeared from behind the door, a towel wrapped around her. Her eyes were red and puffy and it was painfully obvious that she had been crying. He had opened his mouth to speak but she quickly disappeared into the bedroom. He made himself a drink and she was soon joining him once again, fully clothed this time of course. 

She walked over to him and she could see that she was bracing herself up to say something. Not wanting to interrupt her, he stayed silent, waiting for the inevitable to come. 

“Jack,” she started, her voice hoarse. “That shouldn’t have happened. I don’t know how it did or what came over me. I totally understand if you want me to go and you never want to speak to me again. I’ve messed all of this up and I failed you and I’m sorry.” 

“Nikki,” he spoke softly, his voice almost a whisper. He had to clench his fist to prevent himself from reaching out and comforting her. Now really wasn’t the time that he could be overstepping that boundary. “I’m really sorry for what I said earlier and please know I did not mean it in the slightest. You haven’t messed this up at all and I shouldn’t blame you for having such a human reaction to everything that’s happening. I just so desperately want to catch him and I let my frustrations get to me and I took them out on you which was wrong and I’m sorry. I don’t want you to leave, I don’t think I could cope without you. And I am more than happy to forget what just happened if you are,” he lied. This was not something he was going to forget in a hurry. 

Nikki nodded slowly, the tears forming in her eyes again. She edged closer to Jack, wrapping her arms around his waist. Her head now resting on his chest, she could feel him breathing a sigh of relief as his arms engulfed her. Jack leaned down, pressing his lips into her damp hair. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did some research about the suicide rate in London and it was actually one of the lowest in the UK but for the purpose of this fic I decided to make that little detail up...hope you don't mind...


	5. Chapter 5

It had been two weeks since Jack and Nikki had slept together. And just like they had promised to do so, they  _ forgot  _ about it and moved on. Or at least that was what they had tried to tell themselves. Neither had quite  _ forgotten  _ about it at all. They had both just chosen to not mention it to each other. They did however, stick to their original arrangement of Nikki sleeping in the bed for two nights and Jack sleeping on the sofa for two nights before swapping over. They had both decided, without actually talking about it, that it was for the best considering the circumstances. 

That had meant that Nikki was changing the sheets on the bed fairly often, just the smell of him on her pillow was driving her crazy and images from that night would flash across her mind. The feeling of his skin pressed against hers and his tongue dancing and making patterns on her flesh. It had taken the whole two weeks to stop herself from blushing everytime she thought about it but the goosebumps didn’t stop. And the flutter in her stomach everytime she looked at him failed to deteriorate. 

When she had gone into work the day after she was unable to hide the events of the previous night from her colleague Rachel; who had taken great pleasure in winding her up and showing off about how she was right. On the upside at least it had further proven that her and Jack were seemingly together. She had also begrudgingly apologised to John who appeared to accept her apology and understood that sometimes people had off days. He had just hoped that it wouldn’t happen again. 

The greatest challenge for the two of them was trying to act normal in front of everyone else. At home they could be as awkward as they wanted to be with each other but out and about they would just stand out. But unlike before, when Nikki didn’t think too much of Jack’s hand gently brushing against her skin or light kisses they gave each other, they felt different now. More meaningful somehow. Of course before they had driven her round the bend but it was easily forgotten, now not so much. 

When they had gotten into work there had been another suicide - or rather, murder. But unlike the previous victims who had cut into their skin, this person had hung themselves. A thought had flashed across Nikki’s mind, that maybe this wasn’t a victim of Johns. But she couldn’t take any chances so approached it in the same way that she had the previous victims. There was a different MO with this one but that didn’t mean John couldn’t have done it. He may have just switched up his methods to throw anyone off the scent. More people would start to question why four bodies had ended up at the same morgue with the same - or at least similar - methods of ‘ending their lives.’ 

Although the fact that there were so many suicides in a fairly short space of time would be a red flag to any pathologist. But as Nikki kept having to remind herself, she was there to catch a killer and sometimes she had just had to pretend that she didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. She didn’t know what irked her more, the fact that he had been getting away with it for so long or the fact that he knew he was getting away with it. And there was nothing that she could do right now that would wipe that smug smile off his face that he seemed to carry most of the time that she had been there. 

Unfortunately, unlike the others both Nikki and Jack had been unable to attend the crime scene for this one as it had been called in at an early hour of the morning so by the time they had gotten into work the body was already there. But that didn’t stop Nikki from offering to help with the post mortem. If she couldn’t be at the crime scene then she would have to make absolutely sure she had at least involved herself in some capacity. But much like the others that had come in, there was nothing that stood out initially that would make anyone totally suggest that this man lying on the slab had been murdered. 

However, upon further inspection Nikki did pick up on the fact that the markings from where the rope had been tied around his neck were not where she would’ve expected them to be. If this man had hung himself then she would expect to see the red markings closer to his ears due to the weight of his body pulling him down. But, this was not the case. The markings on this man’s neck were further away from his ears and would suggest that another force had held the rope around his neck until they had killed him. 

She was desperate to take a picture of this but she could feel John’s breath on the back of her own neck and a shiver ran up her body from the base of her spine. He knew that she had spotted it. He knew that although, more often than not, she appeared to turn a blind eye to things she was still a well-experienced and clever pathologist. And something as obvious as this wasn’t about to go unnoticed. But to his surprise she backed off slightly, moving herself so she could examine the rest of the body. Although that discovery had shone a ray of hope, she found herself somewhat disappointed again as she noticed that there were no obvious signs of a struggle on his fingers. From what she could tell, there was nothing under his fingernails, no evidence of any kind. She had to refrain from the sigh she wanted to let out as she felt that small brick being placed on top of their already tiny wall being knocked down before she even had the chance to set it. 

Hopefully they’d be able to find something in the toxicology results. If this man didn’t struggle when someone else had a rope around their neck and strangled them, then there was surely a reason for that. But there was a feeling in the pit of her stomach that they weren’t going to find anything. That had been the theme so far, they’d find a scrap of evidence that they could easily back up but there was nothing out there to support it. Maybe Jack had been right not to trust anyone and that maybe, he wasn’t doing this alone. But that was something they’d have to discuss after Nikki and John had wrapped up on this post mortem. 

And just like the other victims, this man was perfectly healthy. Nothing that was untoward or would sway the pathologist elsewhere. Nikki, however, didn’t miss the faint markings on the wrist and the legs. This was further proving her theory of how John was selecting his victims, she just needed to get hold of this man’s file and see if he had been attending any support groups or therapy prior to this attack. And she would also have to cross reference and see if any of the other victims had been in similar situations, or even attended the same hospital or support group. But once again, that was something she was going to have to discuss with Jack later on. 

Normally, Nikki was the last one to wrap up on the body. John usually left her to suture them back up before putting them back in the fridge. But it didn’t come as much of a surprise to Nikki when John offered to do so this time. She would’ve taken that time to take any pictures of the body that she needed, or double check anything she may have missed - or couldn’t look at with John present. But she had noticed the rope mark, she had noticed that it didn’t fit with a suicide and he knew that she had seen it. And he wasn’t about to let Nikki seize the opportunity and expose him for what he really was. 

Not wanting to cause a scene that could cost her her job, she reluctantly left the morgue, leaving John alone with the body. If she’d had the courage, she would’ve stayed in the corridor and listened out to see if he mentioned anything but quite frankly, she was scared of what he may do should he discover her lurking about. She quickly got changed, not wanting to think about it anymore and before long she was meeting Jack at his desk again. 

Jack furrowed his brows as he watched her sit at her chair. He glanced over to the entrance to John’s office.  _ That’s weird, _ he thought to himself. He would normally see John coming back from the post mortems first, with Nikki following on behind him not ten minutes after. But he couldn’t remember seeing John walk past him, which meant that Nikki had come out first. And that could only mean one thing, something had happened. And judging by the look on Nikki’s face currently, it wasn’t good. 

He wheeled himself closer to her, leaning his elbow on her desk. He didn’t miss how her breath had hitched as he approached her. If it wasn’t for everything that had happened so far, he would’ve allowed himself a smile at the fact that he was making her feel that way but he chose instead to keep it in, finding himself more concerned with what was on her mind. 

“Everything alright?” He asked. His voice low, not wanting to raise any attention to the small moment going on between the two of them. 

Nikki glanced over at him, “I think I need some fresh air.” Which was a cue that she had something important to tell him and it wouldn't necessarily wait until later. They tried, most of the time, to keep their discussions for after work, when there was less chance of them being spotted or overhead. But there was an increasing need for them to talk at work and as much as they tried not to, sometimes they couldn’t help it. 

Standing up, Nikki headed out to the entrance of the lab, Jack following behind her. Soon they had made it outside and walked around the corner so that they were now covered by the wall. Just in case. 

“Did you find anything?” Jack queried, folding his arms as he looked down at her. 

“No,” she started. “Yes. I don’t know. Well, I do know. That man in there didn’t kill himself and it’s a lot more obvious compared to the others. But I don’t know how I can prove that it was him. He knows that I saw the rope markings and that they weren’t right. That’s why he let me go first, so I couldn’t take any pictures, or question it more than I already have.”

“Was there anything else apart from that? Anything that would back that up,” Jack pushed her for more information.

Nikki sighed, “No. I tried to see if there were any signs of a struggle but there were no defense wounds and nothing under the fingernails. I didn’t notice anything on John either, not a scratch on him,” she paused, gathering her thoughts. “But you could argue that the lack of fight may be caused by him being-”

“-sedated,” he finished. “But you won’t know that until the test results come back. And I feel as though we’re on the same wavelength in thinking that we-”

“-won’t get anything on those results,” she continued. “You were right. There is no way he is doing this on his own. He would never have been able to get away with it for so long if he was working alone. My guesses are Rachel. She’s the one who sends all the tests off, she’s the only one who would have access to them for long enough that she’d be able to tamper with them. I should’ve trusted your judgement, I’m sorry.” 

Jack shrugged, “Don’t worry about it, it’s an easy mistake to make. I thought that she was nice enough, a bit on the secretive side but who isn’t these days. I would never have put her down as being someone involved in this whole mess. But now that you mention it, it does make sense,” he breathed, the thoughts running through his head. “I’ll just have to make sure that I go behind and re-run all the tests she’s doing.”

“Starting with today,” Nikki stated.

“Starting with today,” he nodded, repeating after her. “But even if the test results we find don’t match up with hers, we still can’t prove that John was involved. It would just incriminate her.” 

“That’s what I was thinking,” Nikki began. “We need to start following him somehow. Tailgating his movements because what we’re doing right now, waiting around for the evidence to start showing. It isn’t working. We need to get right in there. Find out how he’s finding these men. I want to look at their files, but I need to get hold of them.”

“What are you hoping to find?” 

“The suicide rate in men is considerably higher than women so of course, he targets men. It’s not something that’s going to particularly stand out,” she reeled off. “But what I’ve noticed with these men coming, they mostly have signs of a history of self harm. Some more obvious than others. But I couldn’t help but think that maybe, he finds these men at hospitals. Or support groups. I mean, nobody’s going to question someone who has a history of mental illness and depression when they kill themselves, are they? It’s the perfect alibi.” 

“But surely if they’re in therapy then they’re less likely to kill themselves which wouldn’t help his case,” Jack pointed out. “Also, what about that woman he killed? Doesn’t exactly fit the theory now does it?”

“Well if that was one of his first victims then that was just him getting started. He wouldn’t have a pattern by then,” she breathed. “And come on, you know as well as I do that mental health is a fragile thing. You could be on top of the world one minute and then right back at square one the next and he would only use that as an excuse. But we need to get to know these men, find out if they were in some kind of therapy and see what their mental state was like before they were killed. If they were on the road to recovery, then it would make less sense for them to kill themselves and more sense that they had been murdered.” 

“And what if they weren’t in a good state mentally?” Jack questioned. “What happens then?”

“Then we find more evidence to back up our theory that they were murdered and murdered by him nonetheless,” Nikki stated. She watched as Jack’s lips upturned into a smile. Her own eyebrows knitting together in confusion. “What?” 

“You,” Jack let out. “Two weeks ago you were ready to drop this whole thing and walk away from it. Now you’re bossing me about and telling me what we need to do,” he chuckled, hoping that he wasn’t coming across as sounding too harsh. 

Nikki was now folding her arms, much like Jack had his, in an attempt to make herself feel more assertive, “Well maybe I’ve just come to the realisation that my worries are not as important as saving other people’s lives. What happened was a wake up call, you could say. And now I’m even more determined to bring him down. Besides, the quicker we catch him, the quicker we can go home.” 

Jack wasn’t quite anticipating that last statement and couldn’t help but feel a slight kick in the stomach. He said that he was happy to forget what happened but that didn’t mean he meant it. He tried his hardest to move on from but that was pretty hard when you’re having to live with that person. And having to be within close proximity of them all the time. It wasn’t easy, to say the least. 

He didn’t have much time to mill over his thoughts as Nikki was heading back into the lab and he was having to follow after her. 

They spent the rest of the morning getting on with some mundane work, trying to find the best opportunity to slip away to the morgue in order to get some more blood samples from the victim without raising suspicion. Their moment came when John announced that he was going to go for a meeting and that he’d be back later in the afternoon. They both waited until he had left before they discreetly made their way to the mortuary.

Nikki had left first, Jack had waited five minutes before joining her; not wanting it to seem too obvious that they were heading to the same place. As they got to the fridges it quickly dawned on Nikki that she didn’t actually know which one he was in so she set about opening each door and examining the body on every level. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before she found which one she was looking for and Jack had appeared from around the corner. 

“You ready?” Jack asked, handing her two tubes. 

Nikki nodded, taking them from him. She set about getting the samples she needed whilst Jack kept an eye out for her. He didn’t exactly want someone creeping up on them and taking them by surprise. That would be the last thing they’d want or need right now. 

“Do you think you’d have enough time to check for needle marks?” Jack encouraged, catching her eye. 

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “I don’t want to risk it. We’re already putting ourselves in danger just by being here. I suppose if I’m quick I could have a look but it won’t guarantee anything, even if I do find something.” 

“It’ll be another piece of evidence though,” Jack reassured her as he headed towards the entrance, popping his head around the corner to double check that there was no one there.

Nikki held her breath as she unzipped the bag further. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. This was way too risky for her liking and John may have been nowhere near the building but he could still walk in at any minute. Or even Rachel could walk in and if they were going off their suspicions that wouldn’t be the best thing. If she was involved with John then the last thing they’d want is for her to find the two of them skulking about and then going running back to him. 

Their cover would be blown in seconds. It would be the end for them. And all the work they’d have put in so far would be absolutely pointless. Her stomach dropped as she spotted it. She couldn’t believe it. She quickly called for Jack who was by her side within an instant. He pulled out his phone and took some pictures of it. 

“It’s very faint but it’s definitely a needle mark,” she whispered. Once Jack had finished taking the necessary photos, Nikki zipped the bag up and was pushing the victim back into the fridge. They couldn’t spend any more time here than they already had, they’d been there for too long as it was. Closing the door, Nikki pulled the gloves from off her hands and placed them in the bin before joining Jack as they made their way back to their desks. 

Nikki stored the tubes away in her bag and mentally reminded herself not to leave it unattended, just in case someone decided to go snooping. As they sat down on their chairs and continued with the work they had started on not that long ago, John was soon walking back into the room. They seemingly went to gather the evidence at the right time. But that had also meant that they were very close to getting caught. Too close. 

That scared Nikki the most, they were one step away from blowing everything all the time. One foot wrong and that would be the end. They had to be so careful but they had to take risks. If they didn’t take risks they wouldn’t get anywhere but they couldn’t push it too far and land themselves in hot water. 

Jack glanced over at her, his face mirroring hers. He knew just as much as she did that it was a close call. Any second longer and they would’ve been in trouble. But it was done now and all they had to do was wait for the original test results before they could go home and run the tests themselves. And in a horrible way; hope they would come back differently. Because if they were different then they would be one step closer to catching him and they’d be able to prevent any more people from being killed. 

It wasn’t until the end of the day when Rachel was walking into their office, holding a piece of paper with the test results. She handed them to Nikki who was not in the least surprised to see that there was nothing untoward or out of the ordinary about this young man who had died. She waited for Rachel to leave before handing them to Jack who quickly took a picture of them so he’d be able to compare them to his own. Although he felt that he wasn’t going to need photographical evidence to prove that they were different. 

He passed them back to Nikki who headed into John’s office and placed the piece of paper on his desk. 

****  
  


“It’s the test results from earlier,” Nikki spoke bluntly, not wanting to make much of a conversation with the man in front of her. 

“Thanks Dr Gardner,” John replied. “If you and David want to get off early go ahead. There’s no need for the two of you to stick around when there’s not that much to do here.” 

Nikki tilted her head slightly, taken aback by this odd suggestion, “Are you sure?” 

John nodded, smiling at her, “Of course. You’re both young, make the most of the time you’ve got together.” 

Nikki had to hide the shiver than run down her spine, anything that came out of this man's mouth seemed to make her uncomfortable in ways that she couldn’t explain. Even if he wasn’t a murderer she still would’ve had her doubts about him. Not wanting to spend a second longer in his company she made her way back to Jack, announcing to him that they were free to leave. 

They quickly wrapped up their things and headed towards the car. But just before Nikki could step a foot into it she realised that she had left her bag behind. She felt her stomach drop and she could’ve kicked herself for being so stupid. She had one job and that was to not leave her bag unattended and yet here she was, leaving it behind in the building.

“Can you wait up for a second, I’ve left my bag,” Nikki called out to Jack as he got into the drivers side. 

“Really?” Jack remarked, rolling his eyes at her. 

Nikki ran back towards the building, not wanting to leave her bag in there for a second longer. As she got into the office she was relieved to see that it was still there, untouched. They probably hadn’t noticed it was even there, thankfully. She glanced around the room, particularly in the direction of John’s office but he wasn’t there. He didn’t exactly hang around did he? 

She had a feeling that she knew where he was but she wasn’t sure if she was feeling brave enough to find out. Knowing that she wouldn’t get a better opportunity than now, she walked down the corridor towards Rachel’s office. And sure enough, she was right. John was sat with Rachel talking to her about everything. She held a hand to her mouth to hide the gasp she let out as she heard her name - or at least, her covert name. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out her phone, hitting the record button in the hope that she would uncover something. 

“Don’t you think they’re a bit odd?” John had asked Rachel. 

Nikki watched as she shrugged. “They seem normal enough to me. I quite like them. They just get on with their work and don’t question anything. Which helps in our case,” Rachel spoke. 

John shook his head, “No there’s something about them. They know something’s up,  _ she  _ noticed the rope marks. We’re just going to have to be more careful from now on. I hope you’re not messing up those tests.” 

Rachel placed a hand on Johns, “Of course I’m not John, I’ve done everything you’ve ever asked of me. If anything you’re the one who’s got to be more careful. You need to keep your emotions in check, you’re giving us away. And trying to switch things up didn’t help, you’ve probably made things worse now.” 

“You want to watch what you’re saying,” John placed a hand on Rachels head, taking hold of her hair. And Nikki judged by the expression on her face, he was hurting her. “Just remember that I could end you in seconds and find someone just as pretty to help me. So don’t push me,” he spat, letting go of her hair. “We’ll leave it another two weeks till the next one. At least, they’ll have forgotten about today’s by then so we’ll have nothing to worry about.” 

Nikki switched the recorder off, knowing that that was probably all she was going to get and not wanting John to find her eavesdropping she headed quickly towards the exit. Jack had pulled up directly outside the entrance, his face full of panic until he had spotted her. 

She jumped into the car, her breaths shallow. She hadn’t even noticed the panic attack that had been building up inside her. 

“What’s going on?” Jack questioned straight away, not allowing Nikki even a second to calm herself. He started pulling away, knowing that they had been there too long. “What took you so long? Nikki?” He tried not to raise his voice at her but he was anxious to know why she was in that building for a lot longer than it would’ve taken for her just to get her bag. 

“I was listening to them talking,” Nikki let out, trying to catch her breath. 

“Who?”

“Rachel and John,” she continued. “I went to get my bag and I saw that John wasn’t in his office. I assumed that he was with Rachel so I headed to her office and they were both in there talking.” 

“Why did you do that?” Jack exhaled. “Do you not know what could’ve happened if they’d seen you? It would’ve been game over for us Nikki.” 

“You can’t exactly say much,” Nikki scoffed. “You were the one who wanted me to risk getting caught earlier.”

Feeling the tension rising, Jack took a deep breath not wanting to let things get out of hand again, “Did they say anything interesting?” He asked, more calmly this time. 

“Very interesting,” she spoke, grateful for the quick change in the mood. “I recorded most of it I think.” She pulled her phone out and found the recording before playing it back to Jack. 

They had just got to the last of the tape as Jack parked up in the car park. Jack switched the car off as he digested everything that had been said. This wasn’t good but may possibly be the biggest piece of evidence they had collected so far. Although how much of that would stand up in court, he wasn’t quite sure of. 

“At least we know that we’re right,” Jack breathed. “But we’re still going to need more than that. They could easily deny that it was them saying those things. That being said, it will help us a lot. We just need to prove that she’s involved by running these tests. I was also thinking that we may have to get copies of the original test results so we can compare them.” 

Nikki nodded in agreement, Jack was right as ever. Not wanting to waste anymore time, they headed into their apartment. Jack didn’t hesitate to pull out his equipment as Nikki handed him the tubes from her bag. He began setting it up as Nikki got a video call through on her phone. She looked down to see that it was Clarissa and there was no hiding the smile that was now spreading across her face. She swiped across her phone, answering the call. She moved closer to Jack so that he would be able to join in on the conversation, placing her phone on the counter so that they were both in the frame.

“Clarissa, hi,” she beamed. 

“Someone sounds cheerful,” Clarssia replied from the other end. “Are you free to talk?” 

“Of course, Jack’s just starting to run some tests for us now,” Nikki explained. “Is Thomas there?” She recognised the background and given the time, she would’ve been surprised if she had gone home. 

Clarissa nodded, “He’s around here somewhere. I just wanted to check in and see how everything is going? And to make sure that one of you hasn't killed the other.” 

Nikki and Jack shared a quick look, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Clarissa. 

“No we’re doing just fine. A few ups and downs but we haven’t quite reached that stage just yet,” Nikki chuckled. 

“Speak for yourself,” Jack remarked, under his breath. But not too quiet that Clarissa couldn't pick up on it. Nikki gave him a small tap on the arm causing him to grin at her. 

“Well now that I’ve been reassured that you two aren’t at each other's throats, how’s your apartment?” Clarissa queried eagerly. 

Nikki picked the phone up and flipped the camera so that she would be able to show Clarissa easier. She walked around the room, showing her every little detail. She tried her best to skim over the fact that there was only one bed in the whole house. She knew that Clarissa would undoubtedly wind them up. But Clarissa being Clarissa she picked up on that straight away and was quick to point it out to Nikki. 

“Only one bedroom I see,” Clarissa winked. ”And how is that working out for you?”

Nikki was grateful that there were only on video call otherwise Clarissa would’ve been able to spot her change in colour in an instant. If this woman ever caught wind of what just exactly went down between the two of them then they would never hear the end of it.

Noticing that she had gone quiet for just a touch too long, Nikki carried on, “We take it in turns to sleep on the sofa actually. I’m on the sofa tonight so Jack has the luxury of being on the bed.” 

Clarissa rolled her eyes, “You two are really boring you know. I was expecting to hear something a bit more juicy. Something more exciting. I’ve watched the pair of you for years, I’m surprised nothing’s happened with the two of you being in each other’s pockets all the time.” 

Nikki did her best to hide her shock and stop her eyes from widening,  _ she had no idea.  _ Jack had turned his head away from her, not wanting to be involved in this part of the conversation one bit. 

“We’re both adults,” Nikki spoke, trying to keep her voice steady. 

“Exactly,” Clarissa huffed. “Come on you’re both young and single. I don’t know why you’re still dancing around each other.” 

Nikki feigned a smile, “Okay I’m hanging up now,” she could feel the awkward tension in the room already and they still had the rest of the night to get through. 

Clarissa’s last words were “Spoil sport,” before the line went silent. 

Nikki coughed trying to grab Jack’s attention as he pretended to be deep in concentration but she could tell that he was just wanting to avoid talking to her. And she couldn’t exactly blame him, she wasn’t keen on going over all of that again. She announced that she was going to go for a shower, leaving Jack alone with his thoughts. 

It was typical of Clarissa to wind the both of them up like that. That woman always had impeccable timing. It was like she had a sixth sense and knew exactly what was going on despite not being told anything. She was probably already drumming up all her theories and no doubt she wouldn’t be far off the mark. 

He had finished up on the tests and now all he had to do was wait for the results to come through which would probably take a few hours. Wanting to make use of his time he made a start on their food. He had decided on something simple and as he was pouring some pasta into the boiling water, Nikki had emerged from the bathroom; in just a towel. 

It took everything in his power to turn away from her and not look in her direction. But it was very difficult when he knew what she looked like underneath. Closing his eyes, he quickly buried his thoughts. This whole thing was hard enough without thoughts of Nikki clouding his vision. 

It didn’t help when she had decided to make her way over to him instead of slipping in through to the bedroom like she usually did. He could feel his temperature rising and it had nothing to do with the steam from the saucepan. 

“What are you making?” She asked. 

“Nothing special,” he replied, almost a little too bluntly. He regretted it instantly as he watched her back away slightly. 

“Okay,” she nodded, taking the hint that she wasn’t wanted. She headed back towards the bedroom door, stopping as Jack called her name. 

“I didn’t mean it like that, I’m sorry,” he sighed. 

“It’s fine Jack, honestly,” she started. “It’s as hard for me as it is for you. I just don’t want what happened to ruin us. I can’t lose you.”

“You haven’t lost me don’t worry,” he reassured her. 

“Good,” she smiled softly before disappearing behind the door, satisfied that their friendship hadn’t been completely ruined. Of course they would never truly go back to the way that they were but she could live with that, she supposed. 

After she got changed and joined Jack so they could eat their dinner together, the tests had eventually stopped running and now their results were printing off. Jack had jumped out of his seat, eager to see them. He pulled the sheet from the printer and just as they had predicted their results didn’t match those of Rachel’s and they did in fact show that the man had traces of morphine in his blood. 

Today had been full of breakthroughs but they both knew that it wouldn’t last and they probably wouldn’t get another day like this, not for a while at least. But they couldn’t help but feel somewhat overjoyed at these revelations. They were one step closer to catching him, one step closer to bringing him down. 

Both deciding to get an early night. Nikki had started settling herself down on the sofa when Jack called her, gesturing for her to come to him as he stood in the doorway leading to the bedroom. Her eyebrows furrowed as she walked over to him. 

He reached out, taking hold of her hand and pulling her towards him. He was soon wrapping his arms around her hand holding her tight against him. Nikki at first, was quite taken back by this but not wanting to pass up the opportunity of being close to him, her arms snaked around him, bringing him even closer to her than he already was. 

She smiled into his chest as she felt him planting a kiss on the top of her head. 

“I don’t think I would’ve coped being here without you Niks,” he let out. 


	6. Chapter 6

Another two weeks had passed when they were at another crime scene of a ‘suicide’ victim. And just as Nikki had expected it was another male. He was certainly building up a pattern now. His targets were predominantly male and he always spaced them two weeks apart every time. Unlike last time, Nikki and Jack were able to attend the crime scene once again. 

Everything was like before, even from the face down photographs. However, the MO of this one was completely different again. He really was trying to throw them off the scent. And if it wasn’t for Nikki listening in on the conversation between Rachel and John she would’ve gone as far to say that this man may have actually killed himself. 

She walked into the room to find multiple needles on the floor, making the cause of death pretty obvious. There was no blood for a start and no obvious rope marks on his neck. He was clever. If this man had overdosed by injecting himself then of course he was going to have needle marks on his body - even more so if he was an addict. And given the state of the room, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities. Nikki knew instantly what this had meant. 

Even if she had found needle marks on his body, there was no way of proving where they came from. And the drug that had been used was undoubtedly going to appear on the toxicology results. So there was going to be absolutely no possible way they could prove that this man had been subjected to the hands of John Williams. And this frustrated her to no end. 

But she couldn’t say that she was totally surprised. It would just be their luck that as soon as they have a breakthrough of some kind - something substantial that would actually stand up in court - they come in two weeks later to another suicide and have absolutely nothing. 

Jack on the other hand had found something. A clear boot-tread and given that all of them had been advised to wear extra protective clothing, especially on their shoes, given the state of the house. Then chances were that these were left by the killer and Jack knew that he didn’t have far to look for the answer. He just needed to find a way of getting that evidence. 

Taking a picture and a sample of the dirt in the room, he continued to look throughout the house in search of something that he would be able to use as further proof that someone had been there. But nothing more turned up in that respect. And he couldn’t say that he was shocked by that. 

However, by finding this boot print now just went to show that he was starting to slip up and give himself away. And Jack would be lying if he said that he wasn’t in the slightest bit pleased about that. They were going to catch him soon, Jack could feel it somehow. Although he could be totally wrong about that and they could be stuck here for another couple of months yet. 

On the plus side, him and Nikki had returned back to normal. As if nothing had ever happened. Which was a relief to him as much as it was to her. Of course he’d give anything to go back to that night and do things differently. If Nikki and him were going to take their relationship further then that was certainly not the way he had planned to do it. And now there was absolutely no chance of that ever happening. But if that meant he didn’t lose her as a friend then he supposed that he could live with that. Having her in his life was the least he could ask for. 

Pulling him from his thoughts was the sound of Nikki and John returning to him from taking their initial examinations of the body. He couldn’t read much from Nikki’s expression but she didn’t look particularly happy. She knew as much as he did that this was going to be one of the harder cases to prove that it was perpetrated by John. But hopefully with this evidence that he had found, it would be a step in the right direction. He was going to have to wait until a little later before revealing it to her of course. He tried not to chuckle at the thought of her having to stew just that little bit longer; it wasn’t exactly the time nor the place. 

All three of them headed back to the lab, once again sharing a car so Nikki and Jack didn’t have the chance to discuss their findings with each other. Once they got inside Jack made work on running his own tests as discreetly as possible. Luckily for him, no one else at the lab was particularly interested in what he was doing. He had done quite a good job of blending into the background for the past couple of weeks so he was able to get on with whatever he wanted to do. His colleagues just assumed that he was just being his usual self and getting on with some tests unrelated to any new cases that had come through the door. 

It wasn’t long before Nikki and John were getting on with the post mortem. As Jack sent his sample from the floor off for testing he seized the opportunity to get samples from John’s boots that he knew would be in the locker. Thankfully, Nikki had informed him of which one was John’s locker quite a while back so he was going to be able to be in and out of there in a shot. 

Storing two evidence tubes in his pocket - just in case there was something else he would need to take a sample of - he headed down towards the locker room. Rounding the corner, he made his way to the third locker. Using the tool he always carried around with him, he carefully broke in, not leaving a single mark. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride washing over him. Although why he hadn’t thought of doing this sooner he’d never know. 

He’d already slipped his gloves on so he slowly pulled out the left boot and tipped it upside down so he could see the tread. It was a perfect match to the one he had found at the crime scene. He took a picture of it before taking a sample from the sole. He was about to put the boot back when he noticed something on the sleeve of John’s jumper. It looked like a stain - albeit a stain that could go very easily unnoticed by an untrained eye. But Jack had seen this mark countless times before. He knew there had been a reason why he’d brought that second tube. 

A smile graced his face as he pulled the second swab and gently rubbed at the sleeve. He jumped as he heard a clang of metal coming from the direction of the morgue. Not wanting to spend any more time there than was necessary, he quickly placed John’s clothes back to their original way, closed the locker and walked back towards the office; pushing the tubes deep into his pocket. He’d have to do those tests back at the apartment otherwise that may actually cause some funny looks. 

Returning back to his desk, he sat down on his chair and pretended to get on with some work as he waited for Nikki to come back from the post mortem. He didn’t have to wait long however as she came storming into the room, huffing as she threw herself into the chair. Jack’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched her. He’d heard that noise when he was back in the locker room but didn’t think much of it, clearly he should’ve. He’d noticed that once again Nikki was the first one back so things hadn’t gone just quite how she had anticipated. 

“Do you need some air?” Jack asked to which Nikki simply nodded, leading the way as he followed her out. They walked around the corner to the usual place they’d have their secret discussions. “What happened?” 

“Nothing,” Nikki exhaled. “No I mean it,” she reiterated when she noticed that Jack had pulled a face. “We didn’t argue. I just can’t help but get worked up about this whole thing. It’s so frustrating. I used to think that our lives were out of the ordinary with what we have to face everyday until I came here. And then I realised that our lives seemed like the most normal and mundane thing on this earth. I just want to nail him so we can go back to that normality and not have to look over our shoulder all the time.”

Jack sighed, she did have a point. Things were tough back at home but nowhere near as difficult as this. This was on a whole other level, “I might have something that will cheer you up though.” 

“What, did you find something?” Nikki’s eyes lit up at this glimmer of hope.

Jack nodded, a smirk spreading across his face, “A boot print. And by all accounts it matches Johns.” 

Her eyebrows knitted together, “How do you know that?” 

“I may or may not have snuck into his locker,” Jack began. Holding his hands up to stop Nikki’s protests as she opened her mouth, a retort on the tip of her tongue. “Before you say anything, I may have also found traces of the substance used to kill him.” 

“Are you serious?” Nikki could feel her heart racing. “That means we’ve got him.” 

Jack’s face dropped, “Not quite. I still need to run the tests but I can’t risk doing those ones here so we’ll have to wait until we get back. And even if they do come back with what we’re hoping for we still can’t place him at the scene.” 

“What? Why? You’ve got his boot print with evidence that places him at the scene,” she started. “We all had protective clothing so there’s no reason for his boot print to be there. And we all drove up in the same car and neither of us entered the building before we got geared up.  _ And  _ you’ve found traces of the possible substance that killed that man on his sleeve? How can we not place him at the scene?”

“Conjecture,” Jack remarked. “We’ve worked with this guy for how long now? He could worm his way out of a sieve if he had to. Besides if we’re just going off this then he may only be convicted for this one death. We haven’t been able to place him at the scene of any of the others. And as much as I would love to go home right now we’re going to have to keep holding on so we can get more.” 

Nikki rolled her eyes, not liking the sound of it one bit. It was the last thing she’d wanted to hear right now. She’d been craving her own home and her own space more than ever right now. She loved having Jack’s company and although they had worked through their little blip she just wanted to be on her own for a bit. She let out a breath knowing that she was going to have suck it up and get on with it. There was no way of getting out of this easily and she hadn’t exactly found anything on the body that would suggest someone else had been involved in the man’s death. 

No, they were still going to have to carry on with this wild goose chase. Shrugging her shoulders Nikki simply walked away from Jack without saying another word. She didn’t want to start an argument, knowing exactly where it would end up. She knew deep down that he was right. They barely had anything on him anywhere and even though what they had discovered was major it still wouldn’t be enough to make sure he had suffered just like the poor people he had killed. He wouldn’t get the justice he deserved. 

Not feeling any better than she had felt not ten minutes ago, Nikki once again found herself sulking somewhat as she sat down at her desk. She logged on to her computer. Whilst she waited for everything to load, her eyes glanced over to the photo frame containing a photo of her and Jack. They had taken it not long after they had arrived at Cornwall. They both thought they’d be more convincing if they had pictures of them on their desks. 

Her lips twitched fondly as she looked at the pair of them, to any passerby they would’ve looked like a completely normal couple who were madly in love with each other. Nikki had come to question fairly often in the past few weeks just how much of it really was acting. She felt it more as she looked at the picture and she could feel her heart sink. Maybe she did love him really, but where that love truly came from she couldn’t quite pinpoint at the moment.

She could almost feel herself well up at the thought of how they had messed everything up. They probably would’ve come together at some point, when they realised that they had been idiots this whole time. But now, with everything that had happened, there was no chance of that happening ever. She quickly wiped at her cheek, she didn’t know what had come over her. Her emotions had been so up and down at the moment but then with the stresses of what they were doing it wasn’t that surprising. 

She had been debating on whether or not to consult a local therapist so she could get her head in check in order for her to concentrate better. She’d gone for so many years thinking that she could cope with all the horrors that had been thrown at her throughout her life. But it wasn’t until going to therapy all those months ago did she realise that she had just been hiding away from the real problems. She had felt so much clarity in the coming months after going to those appointments and that’s probably just what she needed right now. 

Nikki shook her thoughts away, if it was something she really was considering then she would have to think about it later. And she’d probably have to run it past the police in the first place, it might end up being something too risky for her to actually do. She’d have to ask Jack about it later, see what he thought of it. 

It was a couple of hours later when Jack was getting the results back on his original samples. Now that he had got them, all that there was left to do now was to go back home and test the samples he’d got from John’s clothes. They were still yet to get the toxicology results back but given that the victim died from an overdose then neither Jack or Nikki were expecting anything out of the ordinary. If they tampered with these results then they would instantly make themselves look guilty. 

Jack spent the remainder of the day watching over Nikki. She was different. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Her emotions had been up and down towards the beginning of this job but he had understood that. And he thought that they had settled down and were starting to get used to this weird way of living. But then with everything that had happened so far he couldn’t exactly blame her for being all over the place. 

Wheeling himself in his chair over to her, he leaned his elbow on her desk. 

“Are you alright?” He spoke softly, not wanting to startle.

Nikki turned to look at him and it was then he noticed the faint bags under her eyes. She gave him a weak smile; all she could muster. She nodded slowly, “I’m just tired that’s all,” she breathed. 

Jack lowered his voice, “I know it’s my turn for the bed tonight but I am more than happy to slump it on the sofa if you want to have a proper night’s sleep.”

She reached out, placing a hand on his arm, “Thank you.” 

He laid his hand on top of hers, his thumb running gentle circles into her skin, “It’s no problem.  _ If  _ there is something playing on your mind you can talk to me about it. I know things are weird at the moment but seeing that you can’t get rid of me you might as well share your thoughts with me,” he winked, a joking tone to his voice in an attempt to lighten her mood. 

It seemed to work as she rolled her eyes at him causing him to chuckle. 

“You need to get back to work,” Nikki pushed him away from her slightly, removing her hand from underneath his. Jack was smirking to himself as he returned to his desk and carried on with what he had been working on. 

Once they finally got the toxicology results back, Jack and Nikki headed back to their apartment. Whilst Jack didn’t hang about to get started on his tests, Nikki was quick to spot the mail that had been posted to their apartment and from what she could gather, it was the files she had asked for on all the victims that they had worked on so far. 

Opening them she began reading through them, spreading the notes out across their dining table. As she spent the next hour looking thoroughly through each and every file she had come to find that she had been correct with her guesses. Every single one of the men that had come in all had a history of mental illness. With each of them being in and out of therapy throughout their lives and coincidentally, but not surprisingly, they had all attended the same hospital. 

She had quite excitedly brought Jack to see her findings to which he was quite impressed by but added that he knew she “Could do it.” Nikki had poked him in the chest for that and he rightfully backed away. 

After she felt as though she had finished with the files Nikki jumped into the shower in an attempt to clear her head. She emerged from the bathroom not long after and Jack had already started making the two of them food. She smiled to herself and she went to get dressed in the bedroom. 

Fully dressed and ready for food she came out and joined Jack. She sat down at the table, suddenly feeling quite nervous at the conversation she was about to bring up to him. She wasn’t sure where this anxiety was coming from, Jack was fully aware of everything that had been going on in her life recently and he was going to be the last person to judge her for what she was about to say. But then maybe it was the fact that they weren’t in their normal conditions and what she was about to do could potentially be quite risky. 

“Jack,” she started. He snapped his head to look at her, happy that she had got his attention she continued. “My head’s been all over the place and I was thinking about making myself an appointment with the local therapist, just to see if I can just make sense of what’s going on right now. I think it might help.” 

Jack edged himself closer to her, he frowned as she spoke, trying to come up with an answer to respond to what she was saying, “I don’t see how that would be a problem if you think that’s what you need to do. I’d probably run it past the police first, just to make sure that they would be okay with it and wouldn’t put you at any unnecessary risk.” 

Nikki nodded, digesting what he was saying and she couldn’t agree more. Although she was just happy with the fact that he wasn’t totally against it and rather that he was encouraging her. But then he was probably glad that she was trying to find a way to vent her emotions so that she would be able to retain her focus on the case. 

And with that they ate their food whilst they waited for Jack’s results to come through. Once they had got the results they were as they had expected them. The samples Jack took from the boots matched the samples he’d taken from the floor. The drug that Jack had found on his sleeve also matched the toxicology results from the body. So John was definitely at the scene and most likely killed the man. 

Nikki on the other hand managed to get through to the police officer who sent them off on this journey in the first place and she had actually told Nikki that if she were to make an appointment at the same hospital that the victims had attended before their death, then it may be possible for her to see if that was truly how John was selecting his victims. She did remind her however that she would still have to go under  _ Isabella Gardner  _ for the sake of keeping up appearances. 

Jack had also kept true to his word and let Nikki take the bed whilst he set up his bed on the sofa. If it was anyone else he would never have let that bed go but it was Nikki and he would do anything for her, especially if it made her happy. 

* * *

It had been another two weeks since the last victim. Nikki was able to make an appointment at the hospital but as it had been particularly busy she was having to wait a further two weeks for that appointment. Which admittedly wasn’t ideal but she wasn’t in the position to argue. 

And as they had expected, with another two weeks passing, there came another victim of John’s rolling through the doors. And he seemed to have returned to his original MO - Nikki suspected that he thought he’d thrown the scent off enough with his previous victims that he would be able to return to his initial methods. 

Nikki, Jack and John had just returned from the crime scene and were preparing for the post mortem when all a sudden John was being called away from the meeting. He had come into Jack and Nikki’s office to announce that Nikki would have to perform the post mortem on her own. She was surprised at first, expecting him to postpone it considering that he probably would’ve wanted to be there. And Nikki could tell that he wasn’t happy about having to leave.

But then any normal person would question why he’d delay a post mortem that wasn’t ‘suspicious’ because ultimately he wouldn’t need to. Nikki was finding it quite amusing in a way that he was having to go against his own will and having to potentially expose himself for what he really is. On the other hand, she was just relieved that she was finally able perform a PM on her own and not have anyone breathing down her neck and watching her every move. 

Jack decided that he would join her rather than stick to viewing from the observation room. It wasn’t often he got to actually be in the room when she performed a post mortem, he’d always have to watch from afar so he felt quite privileged that he was being allowed. 

He waited for her outside the changing room. He, of course, had got changed into his own scrubs but Nikki being Nikki she was taking her time. Eventually she emerged, dressed in her white scrubs. He looked her up and down, trying to hide the smirk that was quickly spreading across his face. 

Nikki rolled her eyes at him, moving to make her way towards the mortuary. Once they got into the room, Nikki was instantly in the zone, just as she always was. She’d found that if she retained that focus, it helped her in some way to come to terms with what she did for a living. It never bothered her that much, she’d been doing it for so long now but it was every now and again it dawned on her just how horrible this job could be sometimes. 

Jack clearing his throat pulled her from her thoughts, “Everything alright?” 

She nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. And with that she continued with what she was there to do. She walked closer to the body, taking everything in. The cuts on the man's wrists were similar to the ones made on the first three victims except this time, he had swapped the arm with the deeper cut. Where the others had the deeper cut on the left arm, with this man it was on the right. Which would indicate that the man was left handed. Or that was what Williams had wanted them to think. 

“Is there anything different between this one and the others?” Jack asked, noticing that she had spotted something. 

Nikki nodded again, “It’s the same method as the previous victims and he’s kept up with the one arm having a much larger wound than the other, which is consistent with suicide. However, unlike the others where the larger wound was on the left arm, with this man it’s on the right.” 

“Is that significant?” Jack queried. 

“Not particularly,” she replied. “It would normally just indicate that he was left handed-”

“-but?” he interrupted, a feeling that there was more she was going to say. 

“But,” she carried on. “In our case it would just show that he’s changed it up a bit. Probably to throw anyone off the scent. Although I don’t see how that would work because he’s still used the same MO.”

Jack shrugged, unable to come up with a possible explanation to what she was saying. So he remained quiet, letting her proceed. He watched on as she took pictures of the wounds and anything else that was stuck out to her. She stopped as she reached his inner arm. Jack stepped closer, interested in what she had found. 

“Needle mark?” 

“Yes,” Nikki answered, quickly picking up the camera again so she could document it. 

“Would there be any way of tracing where it came from and which needle made it?” He questioned, a hopeful tone to his voice although he had a feeling he was going to be disappointed. 

“There are billions of needles out there, if you want to try and trace them go ahead,” she remarked, quickly realising that she was coming across as a lot more blunt than she initially intended. Regretting it, she followed with a “Sorry” which Jack seemed to accept as he went silent again. 

Picking up the scalpel from the tray, she made a start on her internal examination. As she sliced the blade through the flesh she could see black spots starting to cloud her vision. Dropping the scalpel she gripped onto the table in an attempt to hold her up. She could feel the panic rising up inside her as she wondered what the hell was happening. 

Jack was quickly at her side holding her up against him to stop her from falling. He was running his hand up and down her arm, encouraging her to take deep breaths in and out. He propped her up as he helped her make her way to the bench in the locker room. Sitting her down, Nikki reached out and held onto his arms to steady herself. 

She slowly started to come around, the wave of dizziness passing. Jack stayed squatted in front of her, not trusting that she was okay just yet. 

“Are you okay?” Jack asked, his voice comforting. 

“I think so,” Nikki let out. “I don’t know what came over me.” 

“Do you want to carry on? I know we need to do this but your health is way more important,” he breathed, taking her hand in his, squeezing it slightly. 

“I just need a minute,” she reassured him. 

“How long have you been feeling like this?” 

Nikki shrugged, “For a couple of days now, I’ve probably just come down with something. I’ll be fine soon enough.” 

“Well you need to start taking it easy and stop putting so much pressure on yourself,” he reminded her, coming to sit next to her on the bench. 

“Easier said than done,” she retorted. “I’ve just got to wait another two weeks and I’ll be able to get everything sorted.” 

“Meet you back in there?” Jack stood up again, edging closer to the morgue. 

“Okay,” Nikki smiled, watching him walk away. She exhaled, feeling the sickness wash over her. She wasn’t lying when she said that she had been like this for a couple of days but she had a feeling it didn’t have anything to do with a sickness bug. Her period was late and given what had happened between the two of them it wasn’t totally surprising. She had spent the past week running over that night again and again and she knew that they hadn’t used protection. 

Nikki rubbed her hands over her face, the thoughts spinning around her head. She was on the pill so how could this have happened? But when she really thought about it, she hadn’t been great at taking it for the last few months, with everything that had been going on, her mind had been elsewhere. So maybe she had skipped a few days here and there. But then she might not even be pregnant, it could be something else entirely. She wasn’t getting any younger and the chances of her getting pregnant at her age were getting slimmer as each year passed. 

She shook the thought from her head, no there was a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why she had been like this. Stress can cause irregularities and she hadn’t exactly been shy of stress recently.  _ No that would be it _ , she thought to herself. She would just have to wait until her appointment with this new therapist and her symptoms will probably just disappear. 

Sighing , she pushed herself up from the bench, feeling slightly better now. And she was soon joining Jack in the mortuary once again.

She gave him a small smile as she walked in, an attempt to reassure him. Now that she was feeling a lot more stable she continued with the PM. And it had gone just like how all the others had gone. All of the men had been perfectly healthy; on the inside anyway. There was nothing that was stood out or was out of the ordinary. She had taken samples for toxicology and also samples that she had handed straight to Jack to test when they got home. 

All that there was left to do now before they finished up at work was to write up the report and Nikki had no idea of where to start. She wasn’t someone who lied and she’d always written everything that she had found. But she couldn’t exactly turn in a report to the Coroner that would read as suspicious. There would be an investigation straight away and no doubt John will want to read over it. And if he’d seen that she had included needle marks in her findings, well, that would be it for them. 

At least with the other reports she had written up before, she hadn’t found - or had much of the opportunity to find - needle marks so she wasn’t exactly lying. But now she had and she wasn’t prepared to leave it out. Confused as to what she should do, she pulled her phone from her bag and headed outside to run things through with the police and to make sure they would be okay with it before she proceeded ahead with anything. 

Jack on the other hand, stayed at his desk. He watched her leave the room. She was lying to him, he could tell straight away. But he didn’t want to bring her up on it because he knew that it would just end up with them arguing and her thinking that he doesn’t trust her. And with what happened before, that was the last thing they needed. He settled on biting his tongue and not saying anything, although that wouldn’t stop him from keeping an extra eye on her. She clearly wasn’t well but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. 

It wasn’t long before Nikki was returning back from her phone call and she seemed to be a little lighter, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Curious as to what had changed her mood, Jack piped up, “What’s happened?”

Not wanting anyone to overhear, Nikki perched herself on his desk, keeping her voice quiet as she spoke, “I just had a word with the police and they said they would have a word with the Coroner for me. I can’t lie on this report but I can’t show John that I’ve spotted anything suspicious so I’m going to have to write two reports. The first one I’m going to give to John who will pass it on to the Coroner and then my actual report I’m going to hand straight to the Coroner myself,” she paused, allowing Jack to digest all the information Nikki was throwing at him. “But you know as well as I do that if I hand that second report in there’ll be an investigation into the death instantly. So, they said they would have a word so they’ll hold off for our sake.” 

“So we’ll be okay and won’t end up in prison for falsifying path reports then?” Jack chuckled. 

Nikki smiled at that before moving to sit down on her own chair and making a start on her reports. But she was soon startled by Jack’s voice as he spoke to her. 

“I know we’ve had this conversation before but you would tell me if there was anything wrong wouldn’t you?” He asked, resting his head on his hand as he looked over to her. 

“Of course,” she lied, not turning in his direction, knowing that he would see through her right away. “I’ve just been so stressed recently and it’s taking its toll on my body. I’ll be fine in a couple of weeks once I get everything sorted, you’ll see.” 

“You don’t seem yourself,” he was pushing it, he knew that but he couldn’t help himself. Something was on his mind and he was determined to get it out of her. Although now probably wasn’t the best time. 

Nikki bit the inside of her cheek trying to keep her cool, “Trust me. If there was something I would’ve told you about it by now. You are my best friend and the closest person to me, especially right now. You are the only person I can talk to at the moment so if there was anything,  _ anything _ , you would know about it.” She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She couldn’t lose her temper.

Jack took it in, “Okay,” he accepted. She was still lying to him, he knew that much. If she had told him everything she wouldn’t be acting like this right now. But then he had to remember that just because they were working so close together at the moment it didn’t mean they had to be privy to each other’s thoughts and feelings all the time. Sure, it made things easier to know what the other person was thinking so there would be less unwanted tension. Especially in their situation. But they both had the right to a private life. And if Nikki was choosing to keep her cards close to her chest then he was just going to have to accept that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this ending is possibly giving off the same vibe as the other story but I hope that I've handled them differently enough that they're not too similar?


	7. Chapter 7

Nikki could feel her heart racing as she sat on the chair waiting for her appointment with the therapist. She couldn’t understand why she was so nervous, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t done this kind of thing before. It hadn’t even been that long ago that she had been at her last appointment back in London. Maybe it was the fact that she was having to pretend to be someone else so she felt as though she was not only lying to her therapist but also lying to herself. Or maybe it was because she just wasn’t in her usual setting. Ironically, the peacefulness of living here was driving her mad, she enjoyed the hustle and bustle of London. There were so many distractions your mind could never settle on one thing. 

But in Cornwall, you had way too much time to dwell on your thoughts. And things would run through your head for days on end. There was one recurring thought playing through her mind that she was trying her best to ignore but as the symptoms were seemingly getting worse each day. She was struggling not only to hide them from Jack but also pushing it to the back of her mind.

There was one way of settling that idea of course. But that would mean having to accept the possibility in the first place and she wasn’t sure if she was prepared to do that. Jack had almost caught her being sick before she had left. She’d gotten up early for her appointment so she thought that he wasn’t awake. But he’d surprised her with some breakfast and she didn’t have the heart to tell him that it wasn’t going to last very long in her stomach. She ate it anyway just to keep him happy but as he had gone into the bedroom to get changed she could feel the bile rising up her throat. 

She’d been as quiet as she possibly could but he had probably heard her. But luckily for her she couldn’t wait around for too long so there wasn’t much chance of a conversation being had. She’d rushed to the appointment, not wanting to miss it and not wanting it to eat into her time at work too much. John had been fine about it and offered to give her the morning off but she needed to be there. Jack would be okay on his own but there were certain things that she’d be able to point out that Jack wouldn’t have a clue about. The same would go if the situations had been switched. Jack needed her just as she needed him. 

As she sat on the chair watching the clock on the wall tick away she couldn’t help but think about if she was pregnant. It was a possibility that was becoming more and more likely despite how much she was denying it. If she was then how she was going to tell Jack. She didn’t even know if he wanted kids, they’d never really had that conservation before. He was good with them, she’d always noticed that. But just because someone dealt with kids well doesn’t mean they actually wanted one. 

And was  _ she  _ even ready for kids yet. She’d never thought about it before. The opportunity had never presented itself to her before so it wasn’t something that was often on her mind, until as of late. She supposed that deep down she had always wanted kids but the time was never right. It wasn’t right now if she was being honest. And God knows how long this case was going to drag on. If it dragged on for that long she wouldn’t want to have a child when she was having to pretend to be someone else. It wouldn’t be right. 

What would happen with her and Jack as well? They weren’t even in a relationship. This was just something that happened once and quite frankly was a mistake in Nikki’s eyes. Sure she loved him, in a way she couldn’t pinpoint but it was love nonetheless but what would happen if they had a child together? Would he want a relationship? Or would he just say that he wanted a relationship for the sake of a child? Would it even work? 

Before she had the chance to really work herself up, a young woman appeared from behind the door calling her name - or at least calling her made up name. Taking a deep breath she pushed her thoughts down and followed the woman behind the door. 

* * *

Back at the apartment Jack was mulling around the apartment. It wasn’t often that he was here alone, although when he thought about it he couldn’t think of a time that he had ever been alone here. Nikki had always been there with him so it was a bit odd not having her around. He supposed that he’d have to get used to that feeling because sooner or later they were going to go back to reality. And they’d be back to how they used to be. 

He couldn’t help but feel disappointed at that. He’d grown so used to her just being there that it wouldn’t be the same when they got back and he was definitely going to miss her. He often wondered if she’d miss him. The way she had been acting he doubted that. He’d understood why her emotions had been all over the place, this wasn’t exactly the ideal situation. But amongst all the chaos he thought that they would have each other’s back.

Sighing, he picked his phone up to check the time. There was an hour and a half left until he needed to be at work. Nikki had left early for her appointment and she’d said that she might be back before they had to go to work so now he was having to wait around for her to come back. Which also meant that he was now alone with his thoughts. He did debate on calling in on Clarissa to see how she was but he wasn’t keen on explaining to her everything that happened because she would undoubtedly read through his lies if he tried to keep the subject from turning that way - even over the phone. 

His thoughts quickly turned to Nikki and he couldn’t help but notice that she seemed off colour this morning again and he could’ve sworn he’d heard her being sick. She’d said that she wasn’t feeling well a couple of weeks ago and tried to pass it off as a stomach bug but this was something a lot bigger. Surely they don’t last two weeks? She’d also tried to blame it on the stress which he supposed could’ve been the reason but something just didn’t feel right. 

A vivid memory of his mother from when he was younger had kept popping up as of late. He had distinctly remembered the time before his parents had told him that he was going to have a brother. His mother had been so ill, she was being sick nearly every morning and she had fainted a fair few times, much like how Nikki had been acting recently. The thought had been playing on his mind and it wasn’t totally impossible. But surely if that was the case then she would tell him? He would have the right to know. But then he didn’t want to come across as rude and ask her outright just in case there was actually a valid reason she had been so ill. 

He just couldn’t help but compare how Nikki was acting to how his mother was. He hadn’t been that old but he could remember being so worried about her that one night he’d gotten up in the middle of the night to ask his dad if he was going to lose his ma’. His dad had reassured him at the time but he always used to wait outside the bathroom for his ma’ to come out to give her the biggest hug just in case it was the last time he could. 

It turned out that he had been right in his worries - even at that age. It had only been a few hours after Ryan had been born that she’d passed away. He didn’t know what to do at the time, he’d wanted to be happy that he had a new brother to boss about but he didn’t know what he’d do without his mother. He loved his da’ of course he did but his mother was his rock. 

Jack wiped away the tear that was quickly falling down his cheek. He couldn’t say he thought about having kids all that often. He’d thought he had somewhat of a scare with an ex-girlfriend a while back but that hadn’t come to anything. In a way he was grateful, he had grown up a lot more recently and he could actually see himself becoming a father. Unlike before when the thought absolutely terrified him. 

He tried to stop himself from thinking about possibly having a child with Nikki because he didn’t even know if she was pregnant yet and he didn’t want to get his hopes up. But he couldn’t help his mind wandering to what they would be like and what their names would be. And how they would undoubtedly have Nikki’s stubbornness and determination. Which, admittedly, was quite a scary thought. He chuckled as he imagined a little Nikki stomping about the place. Now he really was getting ahead of himself. 

Needing the distraction he decided to head into the shower in the hope that the warm water would wash away the thoughts. It didn’t really do much to clear his mind but it made him feel a lot better. He was definitely going to have to find a way of bringing up the conversation with Nikki without actually being direct about it. After all, he didn’t even know if she wanted to have kids anyway. She’d never seemed to be that bothered about it. But he did know one thing from his experience of working with her, she would make a brilliant mother. She’d always been good with kids whenever they had unfortunately been involved in cases. 

She had the biggest heart of anyone he’d ever known and he had no doubt that her children would have even bigger hearts. And now there was the tiniest possibility that they would be his children as well and he couldn’t help but smile.

Although that smile quickly faded as his head reminded him that he would have to actually talk to Nikki about this and see if any of his suspicions were in fact correct. 

* * *

Nikki’s eyes wandered around the small room as she waited for her doctor to finish up writing her notes. It was quite minimalistic but not necessarily in a clinical way but rather in a soothing and comforting way. It had only been her initial assessment but she had already felt a whole lot lighter. Like she had got everything off her chest - well, not  _ everything. _ But that conversation hadn’t exactly come up so she didn’t really feel as though she could mention it. 

“Isabella,” her doctor started, pulling her from her thoughts. “Before I write up your prescription I need to ask, is there any chance you could be pregnant?”

Nikki felt her heart drop, there was the conversation. And she couldn’t say she was surprised, it was a general question that most doctors asked when it came to prescribing drugs of any kind but she couldn’t say that it was totally expected. 

She’d quite clearly picked up on Nikki’s hesitation, “If you are pregnant I need to know so I can give you the right medication,” she encouraged her. The tone of her voice was soft, instantly calming Nikki. 

“No,” Nikki said first before following with, “Well not no but I don’t know.” She was just going to have to admit it, this wasn’t exactly a situation she could stay in denial about. 

“Do you want me to organise an appointment for you?” she offered. She could tell that Nikki was starting to get herself worked up about the ordeal and that was the last thing she wanted. “I can see that you are quite stressed about this so how about I let you go today and once you’ve taken a test we can arrange another appointment so I can write up that prescription. How does that sound?” 

Nikki nodded, not quite finding the right words for the lump quickly forming in her throat. She could see the tears blurring her vision before they were quickly slipping down her cheeks, “Thank you,” she let out. 

“I understand that this can be a very stressful time, have you mentioned it to your husband?” 

She shook her head, “Not yet,” she breathed. She tried to come up with a way of answering that made it sound less like her husband wasn’t actually her husband but rather her best friend and work colleague. “I don’t know he’ll take it. We haven’t really talked about having kids yet.” 

“I assume you haven’t been married long.” 

“You could say that,” she scoffed. 

“Just talk to him, he might surprise you.” 

Nikki gave her thanks once again before making her way out of the door with only one thing on her mind and that was that she needed to head straight to the shop to buy herself a test. The only thing she hadn’t decided on was whether to tell Jack before taking the test or afterwards. Just as he had been on her mind, his number popped up on her phone. 

Plucking it from her pocket, she swiped across and held the phone to her ear. It had turned out that she probably didn’t have time to go to the shop as it was a lot closer to nine o’clock than she’d thought. The test would just have to wait until later. But after hearing his voice down the phone there was one thing she did know for certain, she was going to have to tell him before she took the test. If she was pregnant then she wanted him to be there from the very beginning. 

Driving back to the apartment she waited in the car park for Jack to come out. Once he had emerged, Nikki drove them to work for what they had anticipated to be possibly a rough day. It had turned out that they had both been wrong. They had gone into work expecting to walk into a suicide. It had been two weeks since the last one and as they had seen so far, that was usually the window where John had found his victims. But there was nothing. Nikki in a way was grateful, she had so much on her mind anyway, that was the last thing she needed. 

She still wanted to solve the case, of course she did. But what was going on in her body right now was a much more pressing issue, if truth be told. She hadn’t had much chance to speak to Jack however and there wasn’t much happening in the lab for them to be able to talk about either. And she wasn’t keen on the idea of bringing up that particular conversation with him at work.

He had been giving her funny looks all day though, it was as if he had known. Like he had worked it out. But then Jack wasn’t stupid, he was bound to have picked up on what was going on. She’d tried to hide her symptoms from him but she hadn’t done that good of a job. She was just surprised that he hadn’t brought it up to her if he was thinking about it. He usually just spoke his mind, especially when it came to her. 

On their way home she’d asked him to stop off at the shop, she tried to play it off that she wanted to pick up some stuff for their dinner tonight which nearly ended up in an argument as Jack had aptly told her that there was no need because he was cooking. She managed to stand her ground as he pulled up. Thankfully, he’d said that he would wait in the car for her so she was able to shop in peace and not have a heated conversation in public. 

She didn’t spend too long in the shop, fairly eager about getting back home. Which was weird. She spent the best part of the week panicking about the idea but now that she had actually admitted to herself the possibility of the idea it seemed to calm her and almost excite her. And in a way, she was quite open to it. She just had to hope that Jack was on the same wavelength as her.

Picking her shopping bags up she made her way back to Jack in the car before they headed back home. Despite the excitement she had felt not that long ago it was soon disappearing as she followed behind Jack. She could feel her heart racing but she kept reminding herself to take deep breaths to keep herself calm. 

She dropped the bag on the table before walking around to sit on the sofa as Jack started on making the two of them some tea. Nikki couldn’t think of a better time than now to bring up that conversation and as she was feeling brave she didn’t hesitate. 

“Jack,” she started, getting his attention. “Have you ever thought about having kids?” 

He felt his heart drop the moment the words left her mouth and he tried his best to hide his reaction, which had nearly ended up with him scalding himself with the boiling water. She seemed to have beaten him to the topic he had wanted to talk about so he had a feeling he knew where this was going. 

“More so recently,” he replied, stirring the mugs in front of him. 

“How so?” Nikki pushed, not expecting that to have been his answer. 

Jack shrugged, picking the cups up and making his way over to her before handing her one of them, “I think I’ve just reached that time in my life,” he lied, sitting down next to her.

“Do you think you’re ready to have kids?” She questioned.

“I don’t know, I think so,” he searched her face for a reaction. An indication of any kind that she wasn’t opposed to the idea. If she was pregnant with his child and she didn’t want it, he would support her endlessly but he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from feeling disappointed. “Do you think you’re ready?” 

“I don’t know,” Nikki took a sip from her mug, hiding the smile that was quickly spreading across her face. 

Jack eyed her, his eyebrows furrowing. He had noticed the slight upturn of her lips. Wanting to not give away that he had probably already guessed what she was getting to, he spoke again, “Why are you bringing this up?” 

“Can you go look in the bag, please?” Nikki grinned, she gave up on hiding it now. 

She watched as Jack stood up and headed towards the table. His heart was pounding out of his chest as he opened the bag up. He hadn’t even realised he had let out a gasp until Nikki had started chuckling at him. His hand was shaking as he reached into the bag and pulled the box out. 

Nikki was now standing up herself and was walking towards him, “Say something,” she bit the inside of her cheek. 

“I don’t-I don’t know what to say,” he stumbled over his words. It wasn’t something he wasn’t expecting but he had just thought he was being hopeful so it did come as a bit of a shock. 

“Well I don’t know for sure if I am pregnant yet but considering I have spent the past week bringing most of my food back up I’d say that it was pretty likely,” she took the box from his hands, opening it up so she could read over the instructions. “Shall I do it now or would you rather wait until later?”

“No, no go now,” Jack spoke quickly. “If you’re ready to go now of course.” 

“I’ve thought of nothing else all day,” Nikki beamed before gathering up all the necessary items and heading towards the bathroom.

Jack started pacing up and down the hall in an attempt to try and find a way to let out his nerves. He knew he had wanted to bring up the topic to Nikki today but he was not expecting her to actually come home with a pregnancy test. He had gone from just thinking about the possibility to it actually becoming very real in less than twenty four hours. He was possibly going to become a dad.

And what were Thomas and Clarissa going to say when they got back? The two of them had gone out there to catch a murdering pathologist and they’re going to come back with a baby on the way. Well it would give them something to talk about for a couple of months at least. 

It wasn’t long before Nikki was coming back out of the bathroom again, the small white stick in her hand. 

“How long do we have to wait?” He asked eagerly, guiding her to the sofa so she could sit down. 

She smiled to herself as she realised what he was doing. She didn’t even know for sure if she was actually pregnant yet and he was already going out of his way to protect her. She just wondered what he would be like in work now. He was already protective of her as it was but with this added to the equation now would just make things even worse. But she supposed she didn’t mind having someone constantly looking out for her. There could be worse things in life. 

She placed the stick down on the table as Jack came down to sit next to her again, although unlike before where he had left a gap, he was now practically sitting on her lap, “Just a couple of minutes.” 

“This is going to be the longest couple of minutes of my life,” Jack groaned, leaning against the cushion to make himself comfortable. Nikki mirrored his position, their faces dangerously close to one another’s. 

“Tell me about it,” Nikki rolled her eyes, moving her head to look up at the ceiling. “Can you be honest with me?” 

“I’m always honest with you,” Jack retorted, a smirk on his face. 

“What are you hoping for?” She asked, daring to look in his direction again. 

Jack exhaled. He had assumed for her apparent positivity that she was hoping for the same result that he was. But it was Nikki and she always had a reputation of seeming like she was feeling on way but in reality was thinking another. But she had asked him to be honest with her so honest was what he was going to be. 

“Well I think I would want it to be positive,” there was a glint in his eyes. He tried to hide the smile just in case that they weren’t on the same page but he was quick to notice the growing grin on her face. 

“That makes things a lot easier,” Nikki’s eyes landed on the ceiling once again, satisfied and reassured that her and Jack had the same way of thinking. “I didn’t even know I wanted children. I’ve never given it much thought before now. And when I started getting symptoms a couple of weeks ago it scared me at first. I just tried to push it to the back of my head. And I wasn’t sure of what you would think of it, we’re not exactly together are we?” 

“I knew there was something wrong,” he sighed. “I just didn’t want to provoke you by constantly asking you what was wrong. I had a feeling that this where the conversation was going to end up though.” 

Nikki’s head snapped to him, “How come?” 

“You reminded me of my ma’,” he breathed. “I was six years old when she was pregnant with Ryan and I just vividly remember her being so ill. When you nearly fainted the other week it just took me back there,” he could the lump in his throat forming.

Nikki placed a hand on top of his, an attempt to comfort him in some way. 

“I was so young,” he continued, gathering himself. “But I used to sit outside the bathroom and I could hear her being sick. I was so scared that I was going to lose her that I’d wait there until she’d come out just so I could give her a hug. I even woke my dad up in the middle of the night to ask him if she was going to die. He tried his best to reassure me at the time but that night, when she went into labour. There was just so much blood and it all happened so quickly. By the time the ambulance arrived it was too late,” he was choking on his words at the end and Nikki was snaking her arm around him, pulling him close so that his head was resting on her chest. 

Her hands ran through his hair, calming him as the tears flowed freely down his cheeks. They remained like that for a few moments until the tears had stopped and Jack was pushing himself away from her. Her hand came to rest on his cheek, her thumb drying his cheek. 

“Do you think it’ll be ready now?” Jack chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. 

Nikki nodded, glancing over to the white stick that was lying on top of the table. She could feel her heart starting to race once again and although she was desperate to pick it up so she could see the result, she was struggling to convince her body to make a move. 

Noticing her nervousness, Jack leaned forward, his hand hovering over the stick. Taking a deep breath he picked it up before turning it over so he could read the result. It had felt as though his body had turned to jelly as he digested the information on the small screen. 

Nikki’s heart was pounding out of her chest and she was struggling to gauge Jack’s reaction. His face was just full of shock but she couldn’t pinpoint whether it was in a good way or a bad way. 

“Jack,” she spoke, trying to get his attention. “Jack!” 

He flicked his head to look at her, the grin spreading across his face. Nikki’s face was quickly mirroring his, her hands coming up to cover her mouth as she felt the adrenaline surge through her veins. Jack was soon wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a hug, taking her by surprise - not unwanted however. She embraced him back, holding onto him tightly as the tears slipped down her face. 

They held onto each other for what felt like forever. Both seemingly caught up in the moment and neither wanting it to end. They eventually parted, this time it was Jack resting his palm on Nikki’s cheek, wiping the tears away. 

“What do we do from here?” She beamed, feeling very light headed from all the excitement that had just happened in such a short space of time. 

Jack shrugged, “I haven’t got a clue,” he smiled back at her. “I do know one thing for sure though. There is no way that you are sleeping on this sofa ever again. I am not going to let that happen.” 

Nikki shook her head, “No I can’t do that to you. You won’t get any sleep at all,” she said bluntly. “That’s not fair on you-”

“-no way Nikki,” he interrupted. “You’re pregnant, you’re not sleeping on the sofa.” 

She laughed at him, causing a confused look to appear on his face, “I wasn’t suggesting that. I was going to say that you can sleep in the bed with me.” 

Jack raised his eyebrows at her, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” 

“Jack, I am pregnant with your child. You sleeping in the same bed as me is going to be the last of my worries,” she winked at him as he feigned offence. “Come on, you know as well as I do that this child is going to be kicking its way through the whole nine months.” 

He chuckled at that, and she did have a point. Although, if they inherited an ounce of her stubbornness then she had more to worry about than a bit of feistiness. His eyes connected with hers as the room was filled with silence. Breaking the growing tension Jack stood up and was heading towards the kitchen. Pulling out different ingredients ready to make the two of them some dinner. 

“What are you doing?” Nikki called out to him. 

“I am going to make the two of us some food whilst you stick your feet up and relax. You’ve had a busy day,” he answered. 

Nikki sighed, “I was thinking we could order something. Save either of us cooking.” 

Jack shook his head, walking over to the sofa again. Leaning on the back of it so he could look at her better, “No way. You need to eat proper food. I know you haven’t been eating properly recently and you may have done your best to hide it but you seem to forget that I’m the best forensic scientist and I notice these things. Plus you’re going to need all the nutrients you can get now that you are eating for two.” 

Nikki rolled her eyes, she can’t say that she wasn’t expecting it. It was Jack she was dealing with at the end of the day. He was protective of her enough as it is without adding a baby to the equation. Now she was just going to have to prepare for him to do a safety assessment on everything she did. There could be worse things she supposed. And if he wanted to wait on her hand and foot then she couldn’t complain. 

Jack finished up making their dinner, Nikki remained sitting down until he had served it up. She wasn’t sure of what it was he had made but it was most certainly delicious and she was actually managing to keep it down. Unlike most of the meals she’d had for the past couple of weeks. Maybe it was partly stress that was contributing to her symptoms. Although she would have to wait until tomorrow morning to confirm that. That was when she felt the most nauseous although she was probably just used to that feeling that it seemed to disappear throughout the day despite it still being there. 

She could feel herself growing tired very quickly and she had nearly fallen asleep on Jack whilst they watched a film. Jack had shook her gently, telling her to go to bed. She surprised him when she didn’t protest and happily left him alone to go to bed. He’d said that he’d join her soon he just wanted to finish the film first - or at least that’s what he told her. 

In reality, he just wanted some time alone so he could gather his thoughts and digest the events of the day. He had gone from suspecting that she was carrying his baby to having it confirmed in less than twelve hours. It was all happening so quickly, it was the only thing that was happening quickly around her. But he wasn’t complaining, this was probably the happiest thing to have happened to him in a long time. Although he wasn’t going to deny that he was absolutely terrified. At least he had nine months to come to terms with it all. 

He did wonder what was going to happen to him and Nikki though. He’d been so sure that they would never end up together considering everything that had gone down between the two of them and now here they were. And if everything went according to plan then they would be in each other’s lives forever. Which wasn’t the worst thing and in fact made him quite happy. But just how long would they last staying friends? He had a feeling that it wouldn’t be very long and he’d be very open to the idea - he always had been. But he wanted Nikki to make that decision. She had to be ready at the end of the day. He would need to find a way to tell her that he would be there for her when she made that decision. 

It wasn’t long before the film had ended and he was switching the TV off, along with all the lights. He slowly opened the door to the bedroom, not wanting to wake her just in case she had fallen asleep. But she seemingly hadn’t when he heard her calling out his name. Removing his clothes so that he was now in his boxers, he slipped under the blankets next to her. 

Nikki smiled to herself as she turned over so she could face him. She could just about make out his face in the dark but she could see his eyes sparkling. She reached between them, taking hold of his hand so she could hold it against her stomach. Her body had erupted in goosebumps at the contact. 

Jack grinned, the moment almost feeling surreal. 

“Can you believe that this is actually happening?” she whispered. 

He shook his head before realising that she probably couldn’t see him so spoke, “No. It’s got to be a sign though, right?”

“A sign for what?” Nikki pondered.

He shrugged, “I don’t know.” 

“Jack about your mum,” Nikki started, getting his attention straight away. “I’m really sorry. That must’ve been a lot for a young boy to deal with. What was she like?”

“Beautiful. I’ll have to show you some pictures of her one day,” his sight was blurring already. “I loved her so much. I love my da’ as well don’t get me wrong but my ma’ was my rock. She was always there for me when I needed her the most. Always the first to come running to comfort me if I’d fallen over. My da’ used to hate it when she did that, telling her that I shouldn’t be smothered. But she always ignored him and gave me extra hugs instead. That’s all I wanted for the first couple of years after she’d gone, one of her hugs. If I close my eyes and really think hard enough I can still smell her perfume.” 

Nikki was subconsciously running her finger up and down the arm that was on her stomach, soothing him. “Well if I end up anything like her then I’ll be proud.” 

“What do you mean if you end up like her?” He scoffed. “You’re already like her. You’re brilliant with children, you’ve honestly got nothing to worry about. You are going to make an amazing mother trust me. I imagine that they’ll be able to recite the entire periodic table before they’re even one.” 

“I don’t even know the entire periodic table,” she chuckled. “They’d definitely get that from you.”

“I can’t wait,” Jack beamed. The arm around her waist tightening and pulling him closer to her. He moved her hair out of the way so he could nustle his face into her neck. He breathed her in, the smell that was just her calming him. 

Nikki tried to hide the fact that her breath had hitched as he felt him pressing into her skin. They were definitely crossing that boundary that they had so expertly put up but considering the circumstances they were in right now that was the least of their worries. And Nikki couldn’t say that she particularly cared that much, it was way too late at this point. 

The smiles never left either of their faces as the two of them drifted off to sleep peacefully. 


	8. Chapter 8

A week had passed since Nikki had found out that she was pregnant. She had phoned her doctor the next day to let her know and it wasn’t long before she had got her prescription. Although deep down, Nikki felt that maybe she didn’t need that medication or even therapy anymore - she had relieved herself of probably one of the bigger stressors in her life at the moment - but for the sake of not risking it she agreed to take the drugs and continued to talk to her therapist. 

She had found that they had made somewhat of a difference however, but that could be down to a various number of factors. There were a lot of changes going on in her body right now and her hormones were all over the place so it was hard to pinpoint exactly what was making a difference at the moment. 

Jack had, for the most part, been very protective of her. It wasn’t something that was unexpected at all. But they were waiting to tell people at work just in case something went wrong. So it was getting even harder trying to explain to everyone why Jack - or rather  _ David  _ \- was waiting on her hand and foot. A conversation with Rachel had led Nikki to believe that most of them thought that they had an argument and he was trying to make it up. She hadn’t made any attempt to correct them, that idea was much more amusing to her.

It did make them feel as though they were living in their own little bubble however. That’s if they weren’t living in their own little bubble anyway. It was quite nice keeping this news to themselves for the moment. If they were back at home now Clarissa would’ve worked it out before they had and Thomas would be offering her maternity leave before she’d even get the chance to ask. 

Nikki chuckled to herself as she lied in bed. Jack had demanded that she stay there as he was going to make her breakfast in bed. She had done her best to protest and tell him that she was perfectly capable of getting up to go and have breakfast at the table. But Jack said that she deserved to relax and put her feet up. She gave up arguing with him in the end, he was going to do it whether she liked it or not. 

Interrupting her thoughts was Jack walking in with a tray full of food and by the looks of it, he was going to be joining her. If someone was looking down and watching them right now, they would’ve thought that they were just an average couple, sharing a meal in bed. When in reality they were just two best friends who were undoubtedly in love with each other but were yet to actually admit that to one another. 

Nikki beamed up at him, a twinkle in her eye as she sat up properly. Reaching out she took hold of the tray so he could join her on the other side of the bed. She carefully placed the tray in between the two of them, taking a sip of the orange juice before putting it back down on her bedside table instead knowing that it probably wasn’t safe if she attempted to balance it on the already wobbling piece of plastic. Jack had virtually mirrored her movements and they were now tucking into some toast. 

She smiled as she quickly realised how much trouble he’d gone to for her, he’d even put a small flower in a little vase. Although she was sure that half of the stuff on her plate weren’t things they’d had in the house so who knows when he snuck off to get them. She wasn’t complaining though, she was starving and this was definitely settling her stomach. Thankfully the nausea had seemed to wear off but she was still getting it every other day. So maybe it was the stress of it all contributing to her symptoms as well. 

They ate in silence and once they had finished, Jack gathered their dishes on the tray before placing it down on the floor so they could have an extra couple of minutes in bed. She laughed as she spotted some butter on the side of his face. Leaning over she ran her thumb along his cheek and before she even realised what she was doing she was licking the butter off her thumb. Jack eyed her, his face turning just as red as hers. The air was thick around them, neither quite gaining the courage to look away. 

Clearing his throat to break the tension, he spoke, “Do you feel any different?”

Nikki’s brows furrowed. Shrugging her shoulders she answered him, “I don’t know. I won’t actually feel anything for a couple of weeks yet so it’s quite hard to imagine that there’s something actually growing there right now.”

“When’s the appointment?” He asked.

“A week today,” she breathed, her stomach fluttering at the thought.

“Excited?”

“Nervous,” her hand instinctively travelled to rest on her stomach. Jack’s hand moved, landing on top of hers. Nikki’s breath hitched as her eyes connected with his. He quickly retreated his hand. 

“Well you’ve got me now so there’s no need to be worried,” he smiled gently. “And there is no chance of me going anywhere.” 

“Good,” she nodded. “As much as I would love to stay here all day, we’ve got a job to do and we can’t let this distract us.” 

Jack rolled his eyes at her, pulling the blankets from over him, “Do you ever stop thinking about work for more than five minutes?” he joked, picking the tray up from on the floor before looking back at her to catch her reaction. 

Her mouth just hung open as she picked a pillow up and threw it in his direction, making him chuckle, “We’ve got the next nine months to enjoy this but right now we’re trying to catch a killer pathologist and the sooner that’s done then the sooner we can get back to the more important issues.” 

“You’re impossible sometimes, you know that?” He winked, leaving the room. 

They were soon heading into the lab and were not surprised to find that another suicide had come in. Unfortunately they were unable to visit the scene of the crime once again. Which annoyed Nikki to no odds but there was nothing she could do about it now and the only option was to assist in the post mortem, just like she had done for the past couple of months now. 

Jack had been wary about leaving her alone with John - he’d always been wary but even more so now. He was just scared that something would happen between the two. With her hormones all over the place at the minute who knew when she would snap next. And he couldn’t exactly trust John to not lose his temper, he had seen first hand what his victims had ended up like and he was not about to let that happen to Nikki. The other thing that worried him was the fact that the last post mortem she had worked on she’d ended up fainting and he couldn’t bear the thought of John with his hands all over her; even if it was just to stop her from falling. 

He just had to hope that everything went as smoothly as it possibly could and that it would be over quickly so he wouldn’t have too much time to overthink what was actually going on in that room. He had debated on sitting in the observation room but he didn’t want Nikki to feel as though he was suffocating her. He knew he could be overprotective of her but he couldn’t help it. She was always getting herself into trouble and after everything that had happened in Mexico, that overprotectiveness had increased somewhat. It was going through the roof now that she was pregnant with his baby. 

He really was battling with his self control as he sat at his desk but he was just going to have to try and distract himself. But that was quite hard to do when nothing seemed to go on around this place. Well, apart from what they were there to do but there wasn’t much that he could do right now. They hadn’t been to the scene so he wouldn’t know if there was any evidence on or around the body that would suggest that someone else had brought the victim to their death. And as a result of that there were no tests he could run in the lab right now. 

It did dawn on him that they were going to have to find a way to get those extra samples they would need to run against the original tests from Rachel. But knowing Nikki she probably would’ve found a way about it already. And no doubt by the time she’d wrapped up on the PM, she’d be smuggling him the extra samples to store away for when they got home. 

In an attempt to take his mind off things, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, his finger hovering over Clarissa’s name. If this was happening back at home he would’ve told Clarissa everything by now. And for the sake of Nikki, she would’ve put on a very convincing display that she didn’t have any idea. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was desperate to speak to her, to get her opinion on the whole situation but there was something stopping him. It didn’t feel right somehow. 

Himself and Nikki were in this world of their own at the moment that things just didn’t feel real anymore. As though the moment they go back to London they’ll just return to reality and this would all be nothing but a dream. He just hoped that that wasn’t the case. It was that and the fact that it was probably a bit too risky for him to be ringing anyone at the Lyell whilst he was at work here at the moment. When they were back at the apartment they were able to get away with it of course, they were in the private of their own home there. But ringing Clarissa here right now would just be asking for it. 

He did suppose that there was one person he could get away with calling right now. He hadn’t spoken to him much - if at all - this whole time he’d been there. When he’d left, Jack had briefly explained to his dad what was going on but he couldn’t go into detail about everything. Given that he would only be speaking to his dad then there wouldn’t be that much of a risk and nobody would suspect anything. 

“Screw it,” he said under his breath as he clicked on his dad’s contact. Soon the dial tone was ringing and Jack was heading out through the entrance towards the spot he and Nikki always chose. He couldn’t hide the sigh of relief he felt as he heard the sound of his dad's voice down the line. “Hello Da’,” he replied, the smile growing across his face. 

“What are you ringing for?” Conor asked. 

“Nice to speak to you as well,” Jack quipped, chuckling. “I just wanted to see how you were and to say that I’m missing you.” 

“What are you doing that for, you soppy git,” he scoffed, his accent strong, even on the phone. 

Jack rolled his eyes, ignoring him, “I’ve been thinking about maw recently,” he paused. He knew it wasn’t really his place to be telling his dad about this right now and as much as he loved Nikki he needed to talk to someone else about this. He should really be waiting for her to be with him to tell his dad but he was just excited. “You remember me talking about Nikki, Dr Alexander, and how she’d be coming with me to work on this case?”

There was silence on the other end and Jack couldn’t help but smirk knowing that he was nodding instead of actually saying yes. He decided to just carry on rather than waiting for his dad to reply, “Well, you see the thing is, something’s happened. I don’t want to go into all the gory details about it but to put it simply, you’re going to be a grandad,” he beamed, his whole face lighting up. 

“What did you just say?” Conor questioned, his voice full of disbelief. 

“I said that you are going to be a grandad,” he reiterated. “I shouldn’t really be telling you anything until we’ve been for the first scan but considering that you’re my da’ I don’t see how that should matter.” 

“I can’t believe it,” Conor spoke, “You’re going to be a father, I mean are you even ready to be a father?” 

“Thanks, that fills me with such confidence,” Jack remarked. 

“I’m only joking son,” Conor laughed. “If I can be a father then you’ll be alright.” 

Jack glanced over to the entrance to the lab, spotting Nikki coming out looking around, slightly panicked. That panic seemed to be lifted from her the moment she caught Jack’s eye and she headed straight for him. Quickly saying his goodbyes and promising to call his dad later, he hung up the phone. 

“Who were you on the phone to?” Nikki queried, leaning against the wall. 

Not wanting to lie to her he answered truthfully, “My da’,” Nikki had snapped her head up to look at him, probably anticipating what he was about to say next. “I hope you don’t mind but I may have just told him about-,” he stopped. He didn’t know what to refer to it as and he wasn’t going to call it a thing. “The baby,” he continued, finding the right word. 

“That’s okay,” Nikki smiled softly, instantly calming Jack who was feeling apprehensive and unsure of how she would react to this. “It’s a bit risky phoning him right now though isn’t it?”

“I just wanted someone to talk to that wasn’t you,” he sighed. “No offense.” 

“None taken,” she replied. “What did he say anyway?”

“Not much but he’s happy for us,” Jack nodded. “How did the post mortem go?” 

Nikki shrugged her shoulders, looking up at the sky, “Same old. Young man, the wounds on his arms were the cause of death and he had signs of previous self-inflicted injuries. But the rest of him was perfectly healthy, just like all of them.” 

Jack reached out, placing his hand on her arm, “We’ll get him soon enough don’t worry. He’s going to slip big time soon, I can feel it. Did you get those extra samples for me?”

She nodded, turning to face him once again, “Surprised he didn’t notice to be honest but I don’t think he was paying that much attention to me.” 

“What makes you think that?” 

“I don’t know,” she paused, gathering her thoughts. “His mind seemed to be elsewhere but then I can’t say that mine wasn’t either.”

“Did everything go okay though?” his voice now laced with worry. “No fainting?” 

“No,” Nikki placed her hand on top of his. “Stop worrying.” 

“I can’t help it,” Jack smiled. “And after last time, can you blame me? I wish you would stop being so stubborn and actually let me look after you. You are carrying our child at the end of the day, you deserve to have someone looking after you.” 

“Thank you,” she whispered, almost feeling herself choking up. “We should probably get back in there.” 

Pushing herself off the wall Nikki headed back through the entrance with Jack following closely behind her. Just as they had suspected not much happened for the rest of the day and they were soon in the car getting ready to go home. Jack was fussing around with his phone, replying to the text his dad had sent him whilst Nikki was staring out of the window. She was quickly tapping his arm as she spotted John walking towards his own car.

“What?” Jack snapped his head up. 

Nikki turned to look at him, “Do you think we should follow him?” 

Jack’s eyes travelled to where John was starting up his car behind her and he instantly shook his head, “No way. He’ll know that we’re following him.” 

“Oh come on Jack,” she retorted. “It won’t be for long, just to see where he goes. You never know, he might reveal something.” 

“And what if he sees us?” 

“He won’t,” she reassured him. “You better get going quickly otherwise we’ll lose him.” 

Jack sighed, he really didn’t like the sound of it. Not only would they be putting the whole case in jeopardy if they got caught but now they had other things to be worrying about. He knew that they would be safe in their car, but the two of them did have a reputation for getting themselves into some very tricky situations. And with Nikki being pregnant now he wasn’t sure if he was prepared to take that risk. 

But with Nikki being Nikki she wasn’t going to take no for an answer and she probably wouldn’t shut up about it until he agreed to go with her. And if he didn’t go with her, she’d still go on her own and he would much rather be with her than not. Even if he didn’t like it.

Starting the car up they headed out of the car park and slowly followed behind John, trying to keep as much distance as he possibly could without letting him out of his sight. They rounded the corner and were soon pulling into a shop carpark. Jack turned the car off and sat back in his seat, the two of them watching as John got out and headed into the shop. 

“Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be a waste of our time?” Jack moaned, receiving a sigh from Nikki.

“You never know,” she replied, not taking her eyes off the entrance. “This could be our biggest breakthrough yet.”

“Doubt that,” he whispered. 

Nikki shot him a look, “Do you want to solve this case or not?” 

“Of course I do,” he remarked. “But I’m telling you now, he’s going to come out of the shop and he’s going to go straight home. Nothing interesting is going to happen.” 

She just rolled her eyes, not bothering to even answer him. She knew deep down that he was right but she wasn’t about to admit that right now. There was the smallest chance that she could be right and that this trip would potentially reveal something. But they would probably get a better chance of that if they did this in another two weeks time.

Although that was something else that Nikki had noticed. It had been three weeks since the previous victim which was very unlike their usual two week gap. She would wonder why that had been the case but given that the last time she had performed a post mortem on one of the victims she was on her own, it wasn’t too surprising. He had probably known that she’d find something untoward on the body so wanted to widen the time gap just that touch bigger. 

She just hoped that would only be the one time he did that otherwise that would just make things even more annoying than they already were. Which didn’t take much, granted. She wanted this whole situation to be over as quickly as possible so she’d be able to focus on the things that she actually wanted to focus on. And if that meant following his movements that little bit more then she was prepared to do that, however much it scared her or put her at risk. 

Her breath hitched as she noticed him leaving the shop and they were on the move once again. Nikki had the feeling that they had been spotted as they kept turning down street after street and it felt as though he was testing them. But they were coming to stop again as they were parking up near to what they presumed to be his house. 

Nikki felt the disappointment quickly building up inside her and winced, expecting Jack’s “I told you so.” But finding herself surprised that it didn’t come and they were just making their way back home. 

It wasn’t long before they were back in the apartment and Jack was running the tests that he needed to. As Nikki was searching through the cupboards she could hear her phone ringing. Picking up her bag, she pulled her phone out and saw Clarissa’s caller ID. It was starting to become a weekly thing now since the first video call and she had come to expect it by now. Swiping across, she answered the call and Clarissa’s face soon popped up on her screen. Her smile grew as she spotted the dark haired, older man in the background. 

It had usually only been Clarissa on these calls, either Thomas wasn’t around or had been busy so it was nice to see his face after what had felt like forever. 

“Hello,” she grinned, edging closer to where Jack sat on the table so she could rest her phone in order for the two on the other end to see the both of them. “How have you been?”

“Missing you,” Thomas spoke sincerely. “Feels quite weird not having someone walking into my office, offering something wise and then walking back out.”

Nikki chuckled at that, “Nothing to do with you being a pathologist down then?” 

“Of course not, we’re doing just fine in that department,” Thomas winked. “How are the both of you anyway? Clarissa has been telling me that you’ve been doing okay but it would be nice to hear it from you.” 

“We’re doing just fine Thomas,” she answered. “It’s a tedious job but we’re doing fine.” 

“Well you’re looking very healthy if you don’t mind me saying,” Thomas pointed, a knowing look on his face. “Glowing in fact, is there something you want to tell us?” 

Jack had looked up at that and Nikki did her best to hide the reaction on her face, was it that obvious? “What do you mean?” She asked innocently. 

“I’m only joking,” he laughed. “But you are looking healthy.” 

“It’ll be all the food I’m giving her,” Jack joined in. “With me in her ear all the time, I’m making sure she isn’t skipping any meals anymore. Besides, there’s not much to get distracted by in this place so that’s probably helping things as well.” 

“Good, I’m glad,” Thomas affirmed. “I’m going to leave you with Clarissa now because I am very busy doing all the work that you’ve left me to do by myself.” 

“You’ve only got yourself to blame for that,” Nikki scoffed. 

“Fair point,” Thomas smiled, walking out of the frame. 

“So…” Clarissa started.

“So what?” 

“ _ Is  _ there anything you want to tell us?” she questioned. “You seemed to pull a face back there, thought there might actually be some gossip from the two of you.” 

Nikki just shook her head, rolling her eyes, “There is nothing to tell. Honestly. I was just surprised by Thomas’ bluntness, it was unexpected that’s all.” She could feel her stomach flutter as Jack placed a hand on her back. “Now is there something you actually wanted to talk about that has nothing to do with mine and Jack’s relationship?” 

“Ah relationship, now that’s a step in the right direction,” Clarissa raised her eyebrows. 

“We’re not getting into that again,” Nikki sighed. 

“Again?” 

“Okay, I’m going now,” she feigned a smile. “I’ll speak to you soon.” Nikki pressed the red button before Clarissa had the chance to open her mouth to throw back a retort. 

She glanced over to Jack who was wearing the same expression as her, it was only going to be a matter of time before they finally cracked and admitted to each other exactly what it was they were feeling. After all, they were now going to be having a baby together. And there certainly would be no escaping from that.

Nikki shrugged feeling her heart sink as Jack got up and made his way to the bathroom without a single word. Maybe he wasn’t even interested in being in a relationship, they didn’t exactly plan on having a baby, or even sleeping together in the first place. It just happened. And although she was the one to say that it was a mistake and that they should forget about it, Jack didn’t do much to argue against that. 

He emerged from the bathroom not ten minutes later, he looked shaken somehow. Nikki highly doubted that he’d gone in there to actually use the toilet, there was something on his mind but she didn’t push it. He stayed quiet for the rest of the evening and she knew that if Jack wanted to talk to her, he would. So if he wasn’t saying anything, then she wasn’t going to force him to admit to anything. He’ll tell her when he’s ready. 

* * *

The next week seemed to drag on forever, both Jack and Nikki were waiting in anticipation for their appointment. There was nothing going on at work - as they had expected - so it made time feel even longer. 

But sure enough, the day of the scan rolled over and Nikki and Jack were sitting in the chairs of the maternity ward waiting. Waiting for what they hoped would be good news. Everything had been fine so far, apart from the morning sickness, Nikki seemed okay in herself. She had the tendency to become tetchy now and again but that was mostly down to the job they were doing. 

She was watching the clock ticking away on the wall and she had started to pick at the skin of her nails again. A bad habit that she’d started as a kid and could never seem to get rid of. She only ever did it when she was nervous or scared but she always regretted it a couple of hours later when her fingers would get sore. 

Jack glanced down at her hands. Quickly spotting what she was doing, he reached out and took her hand in his own, squeezing it gently. 

“It’s going to be fine, you know,” he whispered softly, leaning closer to her so she could hear him. 

Nikki looked to him, her lips twitching, “I can’t help it. I have left it a little bit late to start doing all of this now and you know as well as I do that there's more chance of complications.” 

Jack nodded, “True. But you’re very healthy, you eat well when you want to and you exercise regularly. Everything is going to be alright,” he reassured her. 

Her hand tightened around his, appreciating his attempt to calm her. She couldn’t think of anyone better than him that she’d rather be in this situation with. Even if all they ever become is friends, this child will have two very loving parents and she knew that she could always count on Jack. 

She jumped as she heard her name being called. Her eyes connected with Jacks, full of panic and he was quick to rest a hand on her shoulder. 

“Just breathe,” he said slowly. “It’s going to be okay and I am going to be by your side the whole time. I am not going anywhere. And if you really want to hold my hand in there then I suppose I can let you off this time,” he joked, causing her to chuckle.

She shook her head at him, already feeling that little bit calmer. She didn’t let go of his hand as they stood up and made their way towards the small room. As they walked in, it seemed clinical yet homely, the dimmed lights might have helped in that respect. There was the bed in the middle of the room and a chair next to it. Nikki barely even registered that the nurse was introducing herself to her. If it wasn’t for Jack pulling at her arm slightly, she would’ve completely zoned out. 

Perching on the edge of the bed she lowered herself to lie down as the nurse readied herself for the appointment. Nikki glanced over to Jack, who gave her a small smile of encouragement. Letting go of the breath she was holding in she did her best to calm down. 

“So you are eight weeks, is that correct?” the nurse asked to which Nikki nodded, finding herself being unable to actually say anything. 

She glanced over to Jack who was still gripping onto her hand and very clearly had no intentions of letting it go. Nikki tried her best to digest everything the nurse was telling her but the incessant thumping of her heart was distracting her. She just had to hope that Jack was taking it all in, which knowing him he probably was. The next thing she knew was the nurse asking her to raise her shirt and she could feel the cold jel being drizzled over her lower stomach. 

The hand that was in Jack’s tightened, partly out of surprise from the cool liquid coming into contact with her skin but mainly out of the fact that they were now mere seconds away from seeing their baby for the first time. Their little creation that means they’d never see the back of each other. They’d be in each other’s lives for as long as possible. But how much of that would be spent denying the feelings, pretending that there isn’t a deep love between the two. 

Distracting her from her thoughts was the nurse, reaffirming if she was ready or not. Already feeling herself choking up, Nikki stuck with another nod, knowing that she would not get a single word out. The tears slipped as the black and white image appeared on the screen, followed by the heart beat. Although she couldn’t tell what was louder, her own or the baby’s. 

She heard Jack’s breath hitch from next to her, she turned her head to look at him, the tears falling down his own face. She instinctively reached out and wiped the tear from his cheek causing his eyes to connect with hers. 

He couldn’t believe all of this was really happening. It hadn’t felt real til this very moment. When he could see the picture of his child and he could hear the heartbeat. He had done that. He had helped create that. That was his. His and Nikki’s. They did that. Before he even knew what he was doing, he leant in closer to her, his lips brushing hers briefly. The salt from the tears lingering on his mouth.

He didn’t have time to gauge her reaction as she was turning back to the nurse to ask if everything was okay and healthy. He tried to not let whatever had just happened distract him but he couldn’t hide that sinking feeling that maybe he had just ruined everything. Shaking his head he kept his focus on the tiny figure that had no idea of what was going on. That didn’t have a care in the world. 

Jack hadn’t realised how much he had zoned out staring at the picture as Nikki was now sat up exchanging all the necessary details with the nurse and getting ready to leave. Nikki tugged on his hand, which still hadn’t let go of hers and he was suddenly brought back into the room. He smiled gently at her, she seemed to be unfazed by what had just happened or maybe she was caught up in the moment like he was and it wouldn’t dawn on her until later exactly what had gone on. 

They waited for a minute as the nurse printed out a photo of the scan. Once the nurse had placed the piece of card in Nikki’s hand and reminded her of the date of their next scan, Jack and Nikki were soon walking down the corridors and heading back to the car. Their hands finally separated as they made their way around to get into the opposite sides of the car.

They drove home in silence. Nikki spent the whole time staring at the photo in admiration whilst Jack’s thoughts were racing. He had been the calm one earlier but the table seemed to have flipped and he was now the one panicking. What if he had ruined everything? They were having such a lovely moment and he’d gone and put his big foot in it. But surely she would’ve said something by now, Nikki had a tendency to speak whatever it was that came to her mind. Or was she just saving that for later, not wanting to ruin their morning. 

They pulled up and headed back into their apartment. Jack laid the car keys down on the table, sighing. He turned to face Nikki who hadn’t taken her eyes off the image. She had the biggest smile he had ever seen on her and if it weren’t for the pressing issues he had on his brain right now he’d probably look exactly the same. 

“Nikki,” he started. The tone of his voice caused Nikki to snap her head up at him. The grin on her face quickly disappeared. 

“What is it?” She asked innocently. She was on cloud nine and she was starting to get a little confused as to why he wasn’t either. But then it dawned on her. They had kissed. She didn’t really register it in the moment, it was all so overwhelming. “Oh,” fell from her mouth. 

“I just got caught up in the moment, I’m sorry,” Jack dropped his head, feeling like an idiot. He knew that he was probably going to get rejected but if he didn’t get this off his chest now he was going to regret it and it would eat him up for the rest of his life. And given that now Nikki would be there for most of it, it would only hurt more. He lifted his head back up, his eyes locking with hers. “I know we said that we’d stay friends but I can’t be your friend Nikki -”

“-what?” She interrupted, feeling her stomach drop and the lump in her throat forming. 

“I can’t be your friend,” he paused, taking a deep breath. “And have all these feelings for you and not be able to do anything about them. I am in love with you Nikki Alexander and I want to be with you. I want us to be together. And I want to be able to kiss you and hold you in my arms as me. Not as David would for his wife. When this is all over and we go back to our real lives, I don’t want to be without you. I want us to be Jack and Nikki,” he edged closer to her. “And this little baby. All three of us together. A family.” 

Nikki felt her body relax as she closed the gap between them. Rising to her tip-toes, she wrapped an arm around his neck and brought her lips to his, connecting them. Jack didn’t hesitate to engulf her in his arms as he deepened the kiss. 

Pulling away from each other reluctantly, he set Nikki back down to her feet properly but her hands remained on his shoulders. 

“I love you too,” she chuckled which made him pull a face. 

“What’s so funny?”

“Why has it taken us this long?” She shook her head, smiling up at him. If only she’d known that it would be that simple. That all it took was for one of them to just admit and be honest about how they were feeling. Everything seemed to be slotting into place. Like this was how it was always meant to be. 

Jack rolled his eyes, “Because we are both too stubborn for our own good. And God forbid we let Clarissa be right about something.” 

They laughed before Jack was leaning in once again.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: the first chunk of this chapter, in italics, goes into detail about suicide/self-harm/murder

_ John sat on the chair, sipping at his drink, slowly watching the man in front of him slip into unconsciousness. He was mumbling something John couldn’t make out. Not that he particularly cared for the smirk spreading across his face as the man took his last breath. He had lost count of how many times he’d been in this situation at this point but he would never get used to that feeling. The feeling that buzzed around his body and made him feel alive and that nothing could touch him. Almost as if the life he had sucked out of his victims had been transferred directly into his own bloodstream.  _

_ But it wasn’t over yet. He wasn’t finished. Wasn’t fully satisfied with his work. He hadn’t reached that high. That climax.  _

_ Standing up he picked up his briefcase, placing it on the seat that he was previously sat on. He opened it up to reveal various scalpels. Running his fingers over the silver, he plucked out the sharpest. Holding it in his hands for a few moments, revelling in the weight of the object. The pad of his thumb dragging along the blade, slicing into his flesh. The scarlet liquid dribbled onto the floor staining the carpet.  _

_ He released the breath he was holding back as he turned to face the man once again. Edging closer, he kneeled in front of him, placing his palm on the man’s cheek. Pushing his face to look at him, the smile returning to him.  _

_ He dropped his hand to pick up the man’s wrist holding it in place as he broke the skin. The blood pooled as he dug the blade in further. Pulling against the flesh and making the wound bigger. His heart started racing as he felt the ecstasy surge through his veins. He removed the scalpel as the blood trickled into his own hand. He rubbed the liquid between his index fingers, bringing them to his lips allowing it to paint them red.  _

_ His tongue swiped along his bottom lip, licking the blood away. The tang of metal dancing on the roof of his mouth. Hot air escaped his nostrils as he relished in this moment. This was always his favourite part. He was in complete control, the taste of his victim on the tip of his tongue.  _

_ Moving, he carefully sliced into the other arm, making sure to not overdo it. It had to be realistic. And if he wanted to continue to carry out his wildest fantasies then he had to make sure he wouldn’t get caught. _

* * *

It had been a few weeks since Nikki and Jack had been to their scan and although they were bursting at the seams with excitement they had decided it was probably for the best that they keep the news to themselves. For the moment at least. Telling people at work certainly would’ve helped their story but something could’ve easily gone wrong and they had wanted to stay in this little bubble of their own for the next couple of weeks. Besides, they didn’t know how much longer they were going to be here so their colleagues will find out eventually. 

That hadn’t stopped Rachel from putting two and two together however. As Nikki had predicted Jack’s protective streak increased as each week passed and it was coming very obvious to the people around them. Nikki tried to put everyone off the scent and said that he had been in the dog house and he was only trying to make it up to her. It seemed to work until Rachel spotted Nikki caressing her lower stomach one too many times and everything seemed to have clicked into place. 

She’d approached Nikki the same day and as much as Nikki knew she couldn’t trust Rachel, she couldn’t hide the excitement and ended up giving everything away. Rachel had pulled her into the biggest hug and offered to take her and ‘ _ David’  _ out for a celebratory drink. Nikki politely declined which ended up with Jack having a go at her for missing out on the opportunity to dig for information on John. She managed to assure him that they wouldn’t find out anything, nothing that would be useful to them anyway. 

They hadn’t actually had a case in those weeks and Jack and Nikki felt as though they had hit a brick wall. They had been on the phone to their respective officers who had told them to hang on for that little bit longer, if he had left it this long to kill again then his next victim was going to be his biggest murder yet. Which would leave more room for error and would allow them to get all the evidence that would bring him down. 

This break - of sorts, allowed Nikki and Jack to focus on their burgeoning relationship however. They were taking things slow, not wanting to rush into it too quickly. Of course they had known each other for years and could read each other’s minds at this point but there was always the risk of ruining their friendship in this whole process and that was the last thing either of them wanted. 

They had built up their relationship and both of them would argue that they were now probably at a stable stage. The first time they slept together - or rather the second - it had been totally different from the other time. They had been slower, more considerate with each other. The passion had been toned down and they took their time. Enjoying the feeling of their skin brushing against one another. Their lips pressed together. Their heavy breaths making the goosebumps erupt across their bodies. It had been the way both had imagined how they would come together eventually. And although their first time had created something amazing, they both agreed to pretend that it didn’t happen. And with the way they had been going for the past couple of weeks, that was getting easier. 

Now they were in the car making their way to work. Today felt different somehow. Like there something in the air that Nikki couldn’t quite put her finger on. Jack looked at her as they pulled up. 

“What’s up?” He queried, glancing over at her. 

Nikki shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know.”

“It’s not the baby is it?” Jack panicked, reaching out to take hold of her hand. 

She squeezed it gently in reassurance, looking at him, “Everything’s fine,” her lips twitched fondly as he dropped her hand to move his own to her very small swollen stomach. To anyone else you wouldn’t have guessed but Nikki could tell and she was shocked that she was showing already. Who knew how big she would be at nine months. She chuckled at the thought. 

Leaning over the threshold, Jack’s lips connected with hers. He still couldn’t believe he could just do that and not have to pass it off as being an act. He could kiss her and tell her how much he loved her and not have to pretend to be someone else. Pulling away, he got out of the car first and quickly ran to the other side before Nikki had the chance to touch the handle. 

She just rolled her eyes and took his hand, knowing that it was just easier to go with the flow where Jack was concerned. Besides, she quite enjoyed the attention and she couldn’t complain too much about having someone wanting to treat her like a princess. 

As soon as her and Jack walked into the office, their hands still joined, they were being sent back out to a crime scene. A suicide. Their first one in weeks. They didn’t hesitate to get their stuff ready and head to the location. 

They were met by John who was already processing the scene - much to their chagrin. But at least they were there and although he had the opportunity to hide anything, there was always the chance that they could find something he had forgotten or couldn’t cover up. And that was exactly what they had found. 

Jack had spotted it as John and Nikki focussed on the body. He didn’t raise any attention to it of course, but he knew straight away that there was no way the blood stain on the carpet in front of the chair belonged to this man. It was isolated and not a splatter pattern. This was concentrated in one area. It wouldn’t have come from a huge wound but something deep enough to cause a dribble. Enough that it would stain the carpet but not enough that it would be totally obvious and could easily be missed. Especially if your mind was occupied with something else. 

Pulling out a tube, Jack swabbed the area in the hope that he would pick up some DNA from it. He turned his back to Nikki and John in order to take a picture of the small stain, he had learnt very quickly of John’s feelings towards people taking pictures at the scene so he did his best to be as discreet as possible. 

Nikki on the other hand, could see that he was like the other victims. There was nothing new jumping out at her and before she knew it they were back at the lab carrying out the post mortem. Jack had been quiet in the car on the way back, too quiet. Nikki could tell there was something on his mind, most likely to do with the crime scene as he was fine not an hour ago. But if he wanted to talk about then he would so she didn’t push it. However she did worry when he said that he had to go back home the moment they got back to the lab as he had ‘forgotten something’ and it was so urgent that he had to go now to get it. She’d eyed him suspiciously but she still had a job to do and didn’t exactly have the time to stand there and argue with him. 

The post mortem had gone exactly how she had expected to. Nothing on the body that would suggest anything but suicide and she was starting to get sick of how good he was. He had to go wrong somewhere. He had to make a mistake. There was no way he had had all these victims and not messed up somewhere down the line. Sure they had found evidence but it was so minimal and could so easily be dismissed at court. She just had to hope that whatever Jack was up to that it would lead them somewhere in the right direction. 

When she walked back into the office she was met by Jack sitting on his chair, his hands joined and one leg shaking. His eyes were focused and he was obviously deep in thought. Nikki cleared her throat, gaining his attention. He had instantly shot up, took her by the hand and dragged her outside to  _ their _ spot. 

Nikki’s eyes followed Jack as he paced back and forth, “Jack what is going on you’re scaring me,” she spoke. 

Jack stopped, looking over to her, “I think we’ve got it.” 

“What do you mean got it?” 

“I found his blood at the scene,” he breathed. 

“What?” Nikki took a step, leaning back on the wall. “How?”

“There was some blood on the carpet and it would have been impossible for it to be the victims,” he started. “So I took a sample but I couldn’t wait until later to test it, that’s why I went home. And it wasn’t long before I was getting the results back telling me that it was John’s blood. He was there, this is it Nikki. We’ve got him.” 

“Right,” Nikki nodded. “So where do we go from here?”

Jack shrugged, “I have no idea.” 

“Well let’s just get through today and we’ll get in contact with the police, they can decide what happens next,” she sighed, turning and heading back towards the entrance with Jack hot on her tail. 

They almost stopped in their tracks as they spotted John standing by the door watching them but not wanting to raise anymore suspicion to themselves they carried on, offering a small smile as they walked past. Nikki could feel her stomach dropping as they passed Rachel who was heading in the direction of John but for all she knew they could have been having a completely innocent conversation - she had to give her own thought an eye roll. 

Rachel made her way over to John, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion as she passed Isabella and David, what were they doing outside as well? She stood next to John, flicking her head back to see if her colleagues had gone. 

“What were they doing?” She asked. 

“They know,” John said bluntly, taking Rachel by surprise. 

“What do you mean they know?” 

“They’re not who they say they are. Shit,” John exhaled, clenching his fist as it connected with the wall. Rachel was quick to take hold of his hand in an attempt to calm him down. 

“You don’t know that.” 

“They didn’t look very happy to see me standing here, you wouldn’t react like that if you were having a normal conversation with your husband? And why do you think they go off disappearing throughout the day if it’s not to discuss something secret between them. They don’t exactly act like your average couple do they?” John glared at Rachel, his nostrils flaring. “I should’ve known, it’s been staring me in the face ever since they started. I have been such an idiot.”

Rachel shrugged, “I don’t know, she told me she was pregnant.”

“If you believe that you’re a bigger fool than I thought you were,” he scoffed. “I have let her do one too many post mortems for my liking.”

“What are you going to do?” She questioned, knowing where his thoughts were going to turn to. 

“I don’t know yet,” he growled. “I need to do some digging on this other lab they worked for but trust me, they’re not going to get away with crossing me.” 

* * *

This wasn’t exactly what they were planning to do tonight. But they had been given an opportunity that they couldn’t turn down. They may have found John’s blood at the scene but now they had the chance to be in his house. A chance to have a look around and find even more compelling evidence against the man. 

That hadn’t stopped the both of them feeling absolutely terrified however. Nikki tried to ignore her gut feeling telling her that she was going to regret this but it had been completely out of the blue. He had offered them to go out for some food with himself and Rachel. He had told them to meet up at his house and that was the reason they were now sitting on his sofa, looking around his living room for any clues, a cup of tea in their hands as they waited for Rachel to join them. 

“Have either of you ever been to South Africa before?” John asked, settling down in his own seat. 

Nikki shook her head, “No,” she replied. “It has been on our list of places to visit however,” she lied. It was a random question after all, it didn’t necessarily have anything to do with her. 

“I’ve heard it’s a really wonderful place,” he smiled. “And they’ve got brilliant forensic units out there. I would love to go there one day.” 

Nikki smiled back at him, her eyes glancing over to Jack who was pulling a face. He seemed to be on the same wavelength as her and neither didn’t quite like the sound of where this was seemingly going. 

“I don’t suppose either of you ever heard of the case of a young girl being murdered in Zambia,” he started. 

“Well I’m sure there are many cases out there with that description,” Jack interrupted, sipping at his drink. 

John scowled at Jack, he wouldn’t want to make the mistake of irritating him. Especially because of the position they were currently unknowingly in. “No this was quite big,” he continued, turning his focus to Nikki, wanting to see her reaction to what he was about to say. “She was murdered so that she’d be silenced. You see she knew that the water was diseased and was killing the people in the villages. Funnily enough her name was Rachel.”

Nikki felt her whole body go cold and the blood drained from her face. She tried to keep herself calm and focussed but now the incessant beating of her heart was making that very difficult. There was no way that this was a coincidence. It would just be too weird. It was over for them, he knew about them. 

“God, that’s awful,” Jack replied, completely clueless that Nikki was in fact directly involved in that case. 

Nikki smoothed down the trousers she was wearing and stood up, “I’m just going to go to the bathroom,” she announced, needing to get out of the room. She could be completely wrong and he could just be interested in murder cases in South Africa but considering her ties with the place, he was mentioning it for a reason. He was trying to catch them out and he’d only do that if he knew exactly who they were. 

Jack’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched her leave the room. It was strange that John had asked about South Africa, given that Nikki was originally from there but it could just be an innocent conversation. They had been so careful after all and there would be no way that he would know anything about them. And even less chance that Nikki had been involved in the case he had just mentioned. Because really, what were the chances of that?

She felt the panic rising up her throat as she reached the bathroom. Stepping inside, she leaned against the closed door and attempted to slow her breathing. She squeezed her eyes shut and counted to ten. Focusing on the feeling of her lungs dilating and constricting. She had to remain calm otherwise her and Jack would not get out of this situation alive. He had to know about them but they were going to have to try and keep up their act until they were safe. 

Taking another deep breath, she reminded herself to look out for evidence. He may know about them now but they still had a job to do. They were there to catch him and she’d be damned if that didn’t happen, especially when they were so close to that prize. She was quick to spot that the mirror above his sink doubled up as a cabinet. Pulling at the handle she almost felt a wave of relief and anticipation wash over her as she saw various packets of needles and countless bottles of morphine.  _ That’s not a very good place to hide them, _ she thought to herself. 

She pulled the scarf from her neck to wrap around her hand so she could inspect the bottles properly without the risk of contaminating anything. She spun the bottle around in her hands, reading and digesting all the information. 

Just as she was about to put the bottle back, the bathroom swung open suddenly. Nikki’s throat tightened as she saw John stood in the doorway staring at her. 

“What are you doing?” He asked, his voice oddly calm. Although his eyes were telling a completely different story. 

“Sorry,” Nikki attempted a smile. “I’ve just got a bit of a headache and I thought I’d try the cabinet for some paracetamol,” she lied. 

John edged closer to her but Nikki’s feet felt like they were glued to the floor. She couldn’t move no matter how much she wanted to run away as fast as she could. 

“Why didn’t you just ask? I’ve got some downstairs that you can have,” he had a sinister look on his face and she didn’t miss how he had one arm behind his back. She would be stupid to try anything right now.

Finding her feet, she made to move forward but John stuck an arm in front of her, blocking her in and preventing her from passing. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” 

“Uh, well, you said that there was some paracetamol downstairs that I could have,” she tried to push forward again but John didn’t move his arm. 

“Let’s stop pretending, shall we?” He breathed. “Isabella may not be your real name but you’re an intelligent woman and you wouldn’t want to do anything idiotic now would you?” 

Nikki wasn’t about to give everything away to him right now so she stuck to her guns, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You have got the complete wrong end of the stick.” 

John laughed, making Nikki’s heart race even more than it already was and she was sure that this amount of strain on her heart was not good for her or the baby, “I don’t think I have, sweetheart. The man sitting downstairs may be a friend of yours but he certainly isn’t your husband. And you may have convinced Rachel that you’re carrying his child but you’re not fooling me. So, like I said, shall we stop pretending?” 

Her jaw clenched, “I told you. You have got the wrong end of the stick. My name is Isabella Gardner and I don’t like what you are insinuating right now,” she said through gritted teeth. 

She jumped as his hand clamped down on her wrist, sending shooting pains up her arm, “I had a feeling you were going to be stubborn so I did my research. But you already know that. It’s amazing what you can find on the internet these days. I’d say that Professor Leo Dalton got what he deserved.” 

Nikki’s head snapped to him, he had struck a nerve as much as she was determined to not let him have the satisfaction of being able to get to her. 

“How did he die again?” He paused, grinning at her. “Oh that’s right. He was blown up into millions of little pieces. But that’s what you get for sticking your nose in places where it’s not wanted, Doctor Nikki Alexander.”

Nikki stayed silent, that was the only way she was going to get out of this situation. 

“You’re a good liar, I’ll give you that. You almost had me fooled,” he chuckled. “But you messed up. Oh, what was it again? I think it was when you sent a different report to the coroner than the one you gave me? I like to check everything that comes in and out of my lab,” he leaned closer to her, whispering now. “And it helps having friends in high places. I think I gave you a little bit too much credit when I said that you were an intelligent woman.” 

She closed her eyes, her heart sinking. How could she have been so stupid? She should’ve known that he’d double check her. But then it wasn’t entirely her fault, she had been assured by the police that her position wouldn’t be compromised.

“What, got nothing to say?” He mocked. “Now that is a surprise. From what I hear, Nikki Alexander can never keep her mouth shut. Always one to talk her way through a courtroom. Convincing everyone that she’s right. Well I’m sorry Ms Alexander but you’re wrong this time. You’re the one who’s got the wrong end of the stick here, not me.”

“I don’t think I have,” she quipped, almost snarling at him. 

“Oh she speaks,” he raised an eyebrow. “So, tell me. You and Jack? What’s going on there? I know I said friend but that’s not how friends act, surely. And if I am being honest, that was probably the most convincing part of your act. But then are you that unprofessional to sleep with your partner on the job?” 

Nikki opened her mouth to throw a retort back in his face but they were soon distracted by Jack’s voice travelling up the stairs. 

She had been upstairs for way too long and John seemed to have disappeared. There were so many thoughts running through his head and none of them positive. She started acting weird when he mentioned South Africa and that case. Maybe she had been involved in it, it would explain why she’d wanted to leave the room so quickly. 

And then for John to disappear not that long after could only mean one thing. He had brought them here with the intention of calling them out. It’s why he had brought up South Africa. He knew about them and he had clearly done his research. Jack could happily hit himself for being so naïve and thinking that it was just a coincidence that John had brought up Nikki’s birthplace. It was now blindingly obvious. 

Only realising that scared him more. He didn’t know how long it had been but it was definitely too long. As he placed his foot on the first step of the stairs, he could hear hushed voices coming from the bathroom. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his phone, dialling 999 straight away. He just knew that he was going to need them, although for who he hadn’t worked out. 

He kept his voice low as he spoke to the police and made his way slowly up the stairs. John couldn’t see that he was on the phone to the police, who knows what would happen to them. They were dealing with a serial killer after all. So he agreed to stay on the phone to them but told them that he would be unable to talk. He placed his phone back in his pocket carefully and called out. 

“Is,” he shouted up the stairs, he didn’t know why he was still using their undercover names. It would be pointless now, if he knew about cases Nikki worked on then he knew their names. But he couldn’t be too careful, he could’ve read this whole situation wrong. 

As he turned into the bathroom his heart dropped at the scene in front of him. John was holding Nikki by the hair with one hand, the other pressing a knife against her neck. He hadn’t broken skin but one wrong move from either him or Nikki then it would be fateful. 

“You stay back, I’m sure you know what will happen if you get too close,” John threatened. 

Jack’s eyes connected with Nikki’s, she was frightened and not just for herself now. It would be typical wouldn’t it. They finally admit their feelings for each other and they’re about to start a whole new life together - however strange the circumstances - and that could all be ripped from them in a matter of seconds. He tried his best to convey to her that he could handle this situation and it was all going to be over soon. 

He held his hands up in front of him, trying to stay calm. Edging forward ever so slightly that John wouldn’t even notice. 

“This one doesn’t want to be so honest with me so I’m sure you can give me all the gory details,” John spat. “Are you sleeping together?”

Well that wasn’t what he was expecting. He was taken aback but he couldn’t take too long to answer because he was starting to tighten his grip on Nikki and given the way she was trying to claw at his arms it wasn’t going to be long before that knife pierced her skin. His heart broke at the sight of the tears rolling down her face. 

“Yes,” Jack answered honestly. He wasn’t going to lie to him now. He knew he had to protect his identity, it had been drummed into them after all but it was pointless at this point. And there was no way he was going to protect his identity over protecting Nikki. She was the most important person to him and their baby was just as important. He would tell this man every inch of his life if it meant that Nikki and the baby were safe. 

“Is she pregnant?” 

“Yes.” 

John laughed at the pair, “My my, you really have got yourselves into a pickle. What a shame that you’ll never meet them,” he taunted him. 

Jack’s fist clenched, he knew he was just winding him up. Wanting a reaction and he was determined to not let him get to him but when he was threatening stuff like that, it was hitting a nerve. 

“Jack,” a sob escaped from the small woman. “Don’t rise to it.” 

“Shut up,” John snarled in her ear, his grip tightening again. “He’s talking to me not you. Unlike Dr Alexander here, you're a bit of a mystery Jack Hodgson. I suppose that’s what she likes about you though. Tall, dark and handsome. Not scared to knock someone about. I’m assuming all that stuff about the cagefighting was true?” 

Jack nodded. 

“I could tell. You were threatening me, weren’t you? Making sure that I wouldn’t overstep the mark with your  _ wife, _ ” he sneered. “I find it quite sweet actually, how protective you are of her. Always two steps behind her. Making sure she doesn’t get into danger. Well that is until now of course.”

“It was a clever idea, I’ll give them that. Sending out a pathologist and a forensic scientist undercover. And you lasted longer than any pig would’ve, but still not good enough to catch me. I assume you haven’t found anything, else why would you agree to come here?”

Maybe he didn’t know as much as he was making out, was he that arrogant to think he hadn’t made any mistakes? If it wasn’t for the terrifying situation they were in right now Jack would happily laugh in his face. But he could feel his confidence increase somewhat as he now had the upper hand. 

Relaxing his shoulders, Jack leaned against the doorframe, a small smirk appearing on his face. This was dangerous, taunting him. It was a fine line that could so easily be crossed, but Jack was willing to try anything that would mean he’d get Nikki out of this situation. 

“Well, you’re not as good as you think you are. Everybody makes mistakes and boy did you make a lot. We’ve got a whole pile of evidence stacked against you and you may want to rethink who you work with,” he began. “Let’s see, the most obvious was Rachel’s tests. They all came back clear, a bit too clear. Then there was the boots, you really ought to wear different shoes when you’re going on a killing spree. The obviously staged suicides and shouting at Dr Alexander when she wanted to take photos of the crime scene. Not the actions of an innocent man? I mean choosing men who were already attending therapy was a good idea in theory but it makes linking them so much easier. How’s the thumb by the way?”

He noticed that John had released his grip slightly and was not at all impressed by what Jack was saying. He looked at Nikki, nodding at her gently, she was going to escape. She just needed him to keep going. She needed him to keep on at John so he’d loosen more. He tried to ignore the red on her neck, keeping his focus on John. 

“You see John,” he continued. “I was never the one who called the shots around here. I never made the decisions. I was simply the pawn in this very complicated chess game. I was quite happy to keep my distance and let things appear naturally because they would. I wasn’t the one who wanted to follow you, or listen in on your conversations. I wasn’t the one who wanted to be here tonight. You’ve messed with the wrong person because I’m not the strongest person in the room here.” 

Nikki felt his arm drop and she didn’t hesitate to kick her foot back where she knew it would hurt the most. She had wanted to do that to him since day one and if she weren’t desperate to get away from him she would’ve taken the time to boast about it. But she had practically jumped at Jack ignoring the expletives John was screaming at her. But as much as Jack wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her, he couldn’t risk John getting hold of her again. 

Moving so that she was now standing behind him, he kept one hand on her, still wanting her close to him. His other hand he held out in front of him, ready for John to make a move. But he seemingly didn’t have to do anything as he heard the police sirens and John knew that it was over for him. He had just dropped to the floor accepting that it was over. 

Not wanting John to have an extra option, Jack bent down to the floor to pick up the knife he had dropped when Nikki kicked him. They both waited in the doorway of the bathroom until the police came in to arrest him and take him away. 

It wasn’t until they heard the click of the handcuffs did they feel their bodies relax. Nikki wiped the tears from her face as Jack informed them that they needed to arrest Rachel as well. Now the adrenaline was wearing off, she could feel the slight sting to her neck. Bringing her hand to tap at the skin, she pulled it back to see red. It wasn’t anything major, just a small graze. Nothing that a plaster couldn’t sort. But the last thing she wanted right now was to sit in a hospital. She just wanted to go home.

Jack finished talking to the officers and turned to Nikki. His attention instantly drew to the cut on her neck. He had forgotten about that, being caught up in the moment. He was by her side within seconds, his hand tilting her head up so he could see it properly. He sighed, it wasn’t that bad. 

“Does it hurt?” He spoke softly. 

Nikki shook her head, the tears pooling in her eyes again, “I just want to go home.” 

Jack nodded, “Me too.” He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her flush against him. His hand ran up and down her back as they made their way back to the car. He stopped as they reached the car door, cupping her face in his hands. “We don’t have to worry about anything but our little one now, okay? And I’m sure Thomas can begrudge us a week off before we go back to work.” 

She chuckled at that. 

“You can say that this is too soon but I think it is pretty logical under the circumstances,” he started. “But what would say about us moving in together? This wasn’t exactly how I was planning to ask I’ll admit but nearly losing you again in there made me realise that I can’t be without you Nikki. And you can’t say that we won’t work if we live together because if there is one thing we have learnt in the past few months, it’s that we make a pretty good team.” 

Nikki smiled through the tears and she couldn’t say for certain what the tears were for at this point, “I’d love that,” she breathed, reaching up to capture his lips with hers. 

She had been meaning to ask him the same question. It had never occurred at the start of this whole situation that she’d really enjoy living with Jack and the thought of going back to an empty house when all this was over was weird. She had grown so used to having someone there, someone to wake up to and making her breakfast. Someone to be there for her when she was at her lowest. Living with Jack seemed to have eased her nightmares, she hadn’t had one in months and it terrified to think that if they hadn’t admitted their feelings to one another, she would’ve gone back to those nightmares. 

She loved Jack just as much as he loved her and she was only annoyed that it had taken them this long to realise it. 


	10. Epilogue

Thomas had offered them two weeks off to give them a chance to get back to normality. They only took the one. They just wanted to get back to their usual setup. Besides, Nikki wanted to be able to spend as much time at work before she’d be off again, a detail she had yet to tell Thomas and Clarissa about. 

They had kept themselves to themselves for that week, spending most of the time moving Jack’s stuff into Nikki’s house, with Jack doing most of the lifting. He had banned Nikki from doing anything extraneous and insisted that he could handle everything. Nikki had grumbled at first, reminding him that she was only pregnant but then when else was she going to be able to get someone to do everything for her. And it was about time she let someone help her. 

Their dynamic hadn’t changed all that much, they had been living with each other for months already but now they felt as though they could properly relax. They didn’t have to worry about what they were going to face in work the next day, well, not in the way they had for the past couple of months anyway. They didn’t have to worry that they were going to accidentally slip up and reveal their identities. They were finally able to just be themselves, just  _ Jack and Nikki.  _

* * *

It was the first day back at work, Nikki was struggling to distinguish whether or not the butterflies in her stomach were the baby or just her nerves playing up as they both sat in Jack’s car outside the Lyell. They hadn’t updated Thomas or Clarissa on the latest development and had planned to sort all of that today. It was only going to get harder to hide after all. 

She ran her hand along her stomach, she wasn’t big but there were definitely no doubts about what had occurred in the months they’d been away. She turned to face Jack who was staring right back at her, a small smile on his face. He was just as nervous as she was. 

What were they going to say? Knowing Thomas and Clarissa they’d placed their bets months ago and the moment their backs were turned they’d be exchanging the money. Clarissa would definitely come out with a comment about how she knew all along, and well she probably did. It was like she had a sixth sense, especially when it came to the likes of Nikki and Jack. She always seemed to know what they were thinking before they had even had the thought. 

Thomas would be over the moon and just happy for them, although he probably wouldn’t be happy being a pathologist down again but then he would only have himself to blame. He was the one who sent them out on this case in the first place. 

Reaching over the threshold, Nikki’s palm came to rest on Jack’s cheek. 

“You ready?” She asked softly. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” he breathed. Opening the door on his side, he hopped out and walked round to the other side, opening Nikki’s door. He held a hand out. 

Taking a hold of his hand, she squeezed it gently as she left the car. She didn’t let go of his hand till they got inside. She swiftly dropped his hand, smoothing her coat down, she walked in first as Jack swiped his card.

She felt her shoulders relax instantly, she was home. The smell hit her first, it wasn’t unpleasant like the other lab, it was comforting. The faint hint of coffee still hung in the air. Things were finally back to normal, only a few changes here and there. 

She hadn’t released she had stopped dead in her tracks until Jack’s fingers were entwining with hers. Her head snapped up to his. 

“You alright?”

She nodded, her eyes glancing around the room checking to see if anyone else was there. Satisfied they were alone and they had a second’s peace before their little bubble they had shared for the past few months popped, she stood up on her tip-toes, capturing his lips with hers briefly. 

Jack pulled away, the tips of his ears pink, “We really are doing this then?” 

She nodded again, taking her bottom lip between her teeth before taking the step forward to round the corner. She poked her around the wall to be met by Clarissa sitting at her desk. 

“Hello stranger,” she called out, chuckling as Clarissa jumped before grinning as she realised who had scared her. 

“What are you two doing back?” She queried, wheeling over to them. “I thought you had another week?”

Jack was first to take Clarissa into a hug and it had only occurred to him in that moment just how much he had missed the woman in front of him, resulting in a hug that was a bit too tight. Clarissa didn’t complain though, she had missed him just as much, not that she’d ever admit though.

Thomas had come out after hearing all the noise and pulled Nikki into his arms, “I told you both that you had two weeks, you shouldn’t be here,” he raised his eyebrows at the pair as he let Nikki go. 

“Well there’s a few things that we need to tell you and we couldn’t wait another week,” Jack started, taking hold of Nikki’s hand once again. Clarissa eyed them, her own eyebrows raising as Nikki looked up to smile at Jack, her free hand instinctively coming to rest on her lower stomach. 

“No prizes for guessing what you’re about to tell us,” Clarissa interrupted, rolling her eyes. 


End file.
